Within A Church
by D C JoKeR H S
Summary: The SPR gang go to Australia! Of course it's on a case, and - odd enough - it's at the Church John lived at while he was growing up! But then lotsa weird stuff happens, and it all appears as though John's stuck in the thick of it! Might become M-rating later on, due to certain triple-P characters! Also contains bxb stuff, so don't blame me if you don't like it!
1. Dream

Mai's POV:

 _I was in a Church, and I was being led by the hand down a corridor, light streaming in through side windows and arches._

" _Where are we going?" a little boy asked, looking through a door as we passed, and I could see my reflection – his reflection – in the metal within that room._

 _The little boy I was looked up at the face of a just-starting-to-grey man dressed as a Priest. The man smiled._

" _Just a little way ahead, Daddy's surprise is just down this corridor." the man replied._

" _You're not Daddy, big brother said Daddy's in heaven, and you're just our Guardian." the boy replied._

" _Really? What else did he say?" the man asked._

" _Not to go with you anywhere without telling him first." the boy replied, innocently._

" _Ah… You can trust me, though, right?" the man smiled, bending over to look in the boy's eyes._

" _Well… Alright!" the boy smiled, as they reached a door._

 _The man opened it, and the boy's eyes widened._

" _Just down here, it's alright." he coaxed, as the boy began to shiver._

" _That's the Bad Room! The Bad Yelling Room!" the boy exclaimed._

" _Come on, James!" the man smiled, though his smile was strained._

" _No!" the boy turned to go, yet the man picked him up, pulling him into the staircaseand closing the door._

" _Shame, James, it appears I have to punish you, after all." the man's voice reverberated in the boy and I's minds, as we both began to panic…_

 _A welcoming hand upon my shoulder, and a small tug, as Eugene pulled me free._

" _Mai, you need to be extra careful on this one." he whispered. "Only the brightest star and the darkest night can save these victims now."_

" _What do you mean?" I asked. He smiled, and pushed me backwards._

" _Mai." a familiar voice called. "Mai!"_

"Mai! Wake up!" Naru ordered, and I sat up straight, almost falling off my chair at his close proximity.

Its been three months since Naru returned, and (to be honest) it doesn't feel like anything has changed, or that three-year gap happened. The only difference is that I'm in college with high grades and I've gotten slightly taller, although so has Naru.

Naru also hasn't ditched his solid-black wardrobe, although, on the rare occasion he does wear a blue shirt, however, even then it's almost navy, and he still asks for about 53 cups a day. I bet I could even go about my routine _blindfolded_!

My mind fell back on my dream, and I felt puzzled – whoever the big brother was, he sounded as though he knew something, and why exactly did he call that man "bad"?

"Really, Big Boss! Our fair maiden was merely dreaming of certain Knights in Shining Armour, coming to save her from a great peril! Now you are getting her pretty little head puzzling over the oddity of it!" Yasu grinned.

"I can't have my assistant passing out from thinking too hard." Naru stated. "Mai, tea. A client is arriving in five minutes."

"Sure." I replied, walking towards the kitchen, before pausing at the doorway. "Naru-… Never mind…"

Naru's POV:

I sighed. First she had been muttering in her sleep, then she gets confused for some reason, and now she's hiding something.

I sat on a sofa as Lin came out of his office, sitting at the head of the coffee table.

Mai re-entered with the tea, and just placed the tray down as the door opened, and John entered, leading a greying woman in gently.

"Mother Silvester is from New Wales in Australia. Mother, this is the friends I told you about; Yasu, Mai, Naru and Lin." John smiled. "I think they can help with your problem."

"Thank you, but I still remember from your last call." she smiled, taking a seat opposite me.

Mai was watching John, and her brow furrowed slightly.

Is she puzzled over _him_?

I stuffed the following feeling as far back as possible.

"I read over the e-mail John forwarded, and I would like you to explain further." I stated, picking up and taking a sip of my tea.

"Well, it started about three months ago, but it was alright then. There was just a young ghost running up and down the corridors, playing with the other children, and being overall a nice lad… But then, another ghost appeared, and the children started complaining about feeling cold and invisible hands touching them…" she took a sip of her own tea.

"I would go over and try and help, but there's a lot more spirits there than just the two – those who were buried there are also haunting the place. I have managed to help a handful of those ghosts pass on, but others still remain." John added.

I thought over this.

"One last thing. John, you appear to know Mother Silvester more than just as the person you simply visit and help; why?" I asked.

"That's because he grew up with me and the other children – my church doubles as an orphanage, and John's father used to help run the place alongside me and Father Matthew – god bless their souls…" Mother Silvester explained.

I nodded, and there was silence.

"I'll take it." I said at last, and a relieved smile graced the old lady's lips.

"Ano… John?…" Mai stuttered.

"Yes?" he replied, smiling as he looked at her.

"Would… Is it possible for a Priest to… Would a Priest be able to take advantage of their Priesthood somehow and…" she asked, blushing bright red "Hurt people within a Church?"

John froze for a second, as Mother Silvester shrugged.

"It has happened in the past, but they have all been found out sooner or later." she smiled. "Anyway, I must return to my home and prepare for you. You're own room's still unused since you left, John."

With this, she left, and John frowned, puzzled.

"Why do you ask?" John asked.

"Just… I think I might have, um… Done it again…" Mai remarked.

"Sit, tell." was all I said.

"NARU!" she complained…


	2. Plain Flight

John's POV:

I walked through the crowd, Monk and Ayako's arguing easy to pick out.

"Hi, John!" Mai waved, and I smiled, seeing Yasu talking to someone on his phone. He nodded, and hung up as Masako watched the arguing pair with a wary eye.

"Hello." I smiled, reaching them, before realising who we were missing. "Where are Lin and Naru?"

"Oh… Somewhere nearby…" Yasu answered with a fake sigh.

Ayako suddenly shut up as her jaw dropped, and upon turning around, Monk gave an embarrassed laugh.

"That's some get up!" he remarked, and I followed his gaze.

Naru was in his common black-shirt-and-blazer, but Lin was wearing a stone-grey white-pin-stripped suit, with a matching hat at an angle on his head, in line with his fringe. Although, Lin didn't look very happy with it – the top button of his shirt was undone, and the tie was a thin one with the knot resting over the third button down – it wasn't as smart as he usually had his clothes.

"Lin…-san…" Mai asked, as Yasu began laughing.

"Lin's rather well-known in Australia, as well as China." Naru explained. "He is commonly recognised by his smart dress, and fringe. Therefore having him have a change of clothes – as Madoka suggested – means he doesn't get noticed, as much… Or do I need to somehow simplify that down for your simple mind, Mai?"

Mai's face turned red.

"NARU!" she exclaimed, as Naru and Lin calmly continued towards the gate as our plane was announced to be ready for boarding…

Lin's POV:

Upon sitting in my seat, Naru beside me, I got out my laptop, and began continuing with my work.

Then a soft cough came from the aisle, and I looked to see an air hostess in a blue uniform with red, tied back hair smiling at the pair of us.

"Um, would either of you want anything?" she asked carefully, and I looked at Naru.

He shook his head, and I returned to my work, though I looked over the corner of my laptop screen to see her now asking John and Yasu, John giving a polite "no thank you" as Yasu started toying with her.

This started making John slightly uncomfortable.

"Yasu." I called, and he looked at me, his eyes meeting mine, and he grinned. "Don't toy with the hostess."

Yasu pouted.

"My dear Lin-san, are you speaking out, for once?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, before returning to his evil grin. "Yey! My dear senpai is noticing me!"

"Shounen…" Monk sweat-dropped from his and Ayako's seats behind me.

"Don't worry, I'll be quiet…" he grinned, and silence fell for a while…

I looked over when Yasu started signalling to the Air Hostess, and she came back over.

"Can I please have a blanket and pillow for my friend?" Yasu asked, being as quiet as possible.

"Sure!" the Hostess smiled.

"Also, a set over here would be nice, too, please." Masako asked, smiling behind her sleeve.

A small "awe" came from the air hostess, and she fetched them the blankets and pillows…

A while after, John shifted about, and curled up in his seat, and Mai started shaking her head as she mumbled.

Yasu immediately shifted his position to try and let John be more comfortable, as Masako began shaking Mai to try and wake her up.

Mai remained asleep, and Ayako quickly moved over.

"Mai, wake up." Ayako hissed, and after the fifth attempt, Mai suddenly bolted up, looking terrified.

"Woah, woah, woah, what's wrong?" Ayako asked.

"Owowow… My head…" Mai complained.

"What was it?" Masako asked.

"It was another first person… They were probably really young or something, and they were unable to sleep. It seemed really normal, they left their room, and walked down one flight of stairs to a hallway that overlooked the front door, calling for their Dad… But then someone came knocking, and their Dad came through, telling the boy I was to go back to bed… Oh god! Their Dad got murdered, and the kid froze, but the murderer didn't notice them! It was so scary! It felt like he was going to turn around any minute and look right at him!"

Rotating in my chair, I turned to look at the trio, and pulled out some clean paper and a pencil.

"Mai, can you draw them?" I asked. "Also, write your dream out."

"…Sure." Mai agreed, taking the paper and pencil…

"Please right your chairs and put on your seatbelts, we will be arriving shortly."

Mai neatly folded and pocketed her work, as Yasu shook John, making him bolt up in surprise.

His face was of shock, before he gave an embarrassed laugh, and smiled at Yasu.

"It was just a nightmare." John explained. "I usually get them on Aeroplanes due to the altitude…"

"We're arriving in a bit, so we'll be fine." Yasu grinned.

"Thank you." John smiled, looking relieved.

I took a breath, as the plane started to tilt, and the plane dove towards the airport…


	3. Peter

Lin's POV:

I itched to take off the hat, especially since it was hot in the van.

Naru was sitting in the back with Mai, looking through the pictures, and John was sitting beside me, navigating the roads with the notes he had made for himself.

"Take a right, and follow the dirt track until we're there." John explained, and I did so.

"Mai, you need to write in the colours. How am I to be able to get an accurate copy of the people you saw with just this?" Naru complained.

"I can colour it when we reach the Church." Mai pouted.

"Write in the colours, at least." Naru ordered.

"Sure…" Mai groaned.

"John, what did Mother Silvester mean by "your room"?" Naru asked. "We were too busy earlier for me to get a competent answer."

"Well… I sort of grew up there, although I can't remember much, there was an accident back when I was about 16, so I can't remember anything before the accident but for my training t be a Priest… Sorry that I'm no help…" John replied.

"It's alright, we can just ask about, and you should have photo-albums that we can look through, as well, right?" Mai asked.

John shrugged, and looked out the window.

"It's just up ahead!" he grinned, pointing.

We drew up outside of the Church, and John opened his door.

"Shall I start taking in the stuff?" he asked.

"Go on ahead, I don't want my equipment being broken when any children in there who know you, see you." Naru replied flatly.

John sweat-dropped.

"Sure..." he smiled, before getting out.

Monk parked, and they got out, Yasu grabbing his bags as John carefully pulled his bag out, and Monk waved him away as he quickly grabbed his cases, so John started walking towards the door, which Yasuhara was now knocking on.

The door burst open, and Yasu had seconds to get out of the way as a pair of large black and white blurs shot out, knocking John of his feet as they started showering canine-kisses on him. John began to laugh, stroking the sheepdogs.

"Hello, Dusty, Ash." John smiled.

A white cat came plodding over, and upon jumping up onto John's lap the dogs shied, before running behind a boy about a head taller than John.

"Sugar." he smirked, to which the small cat leapt off John, and ran up the boy's arm to curl up around the boy's neck. "It appears you're still their favourite, John!"

"Hey, Peter." John replied, sweat-dropping.

"But Jo~hn! That means I'm forever their second favourite! How can I be so pretty and yet so left ou~t…" the boy – Peter – complained, before gaining a Yasu-like look. "But… _That's what makes you our Legal Cutie_!" with this Peter threw himself onto John in a hug, making him fall over again.

"Peter-kun, I suggest you don't do tha if you want to survive…" Yasu smiled, helping the pair up.

"Why?" Peter asked innocently as I felt my eyes narrow.

Yasu pointed in my direction.

"That's Kojou Lin. Lin-san is Big Boss' bodyguard, and I have this sneaking suspicion, especially since our case with the Cursed House, that certain Australians have snuck into his soft-spot…" Yasu grinned.

"I can hear you." I muttered as I started lifting equipment.

"No worries, Lin-sa~n! They like you just as much as you like them!" Yasu called. I resisted the urge to hit him and instead glared, but he just hit it away with a grin.

"Um… I remember the e-mails John sent, and I've done my own research on you guys, but exactly who is who? After trying to view Oliver's info I found my image files on you guys destroyed." Peter grinned.

"Sorry! My fault! My name's Osamu Yasuhara, but you can call me Yasu!" Yasu grinned. "The pair who came with Lin and John are Oliver Davis, also known as Kazuya Shibuya, Noll and most famously Naru. He's the one with the blank face and dark hair. Beside him is Mai Taniyama, our cute ESP girl and my dater-simulation-senses detect another pairing there!"

I paused at the doorway, watching Peter expectantly.

"Yasu!" Mai complained. "Don't forget about how you said you like-!" Mai covered her mouth quickly, blushing bright red.

"Who?" Ayako asked, as Masako covered her mouth to display her interest.

"No one!" Mai replied, sweat-dropping.

"Any way! The black-haired beauty is Masako, the light-brown haired man is Houshou Takigawa, also known as Monk or Noriou to people who hear his band play, and the old lady is Ayako!" Yasu grinned, his glasses turning opaque when he adjusted them.

"DON'T CALL ME OLD!" Ayako exclaimed.

"If you're going to be useless and not help with unpacking then I suggest you leave." Naru growled, a dark aura around his civilised exterior.

"Oh! Sorry! Your base will be in the East-Wing spare IT room. I'll take you there! You'll be sleeping in groups, though. But John's room can only house two, and the other occupant ran away six years ago…" Peter explained.

"Why did no one take that person's place?" Monk asked.

I watched with my own, concealed interest as Peter and John glanced at each other.

"No one will share my room – but no one tells me why…" John replied.


	4. Setting Up

Lin's POV:

"I tried working on that, but I jut get told to go away in several different styles, depending on age." Peter replied, leading us inside, getting out a notepad. Peter handed this to Yasu, who gave a wolf-whistle upon opening it.

Children we saw on our way in shot back to the walls, watching us with interest.

A kid suddenly ran up to John, a friend on either side of them.

"Hey, are you John? The amnesia-Priest!" they asked.

"Is that what I'm being called?" John smiled, sweat-dropping.

"Hey." Peter frowned.

"Don't worry, it's sort of true, so I don't mind…" John replied, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter pouted, giving a noise of disdain as the kids ran off and we continued on our way.

"It's still mean!" Peter replied.

"So was calling Hannah Schwartz from three years ago "Miss Blondy", yet you still called her that." John smiled.

"But her hair was bright yellow! Also she wouldn't stop harassing you! I even kept count!" Peter replied. "It was about 38 times she asked you if you thought her pretty, 24 if you would date her-"

"Peter!" John exclaimed, flushing up bright red.

"Su~re!" Peter grinned. "But now I've learnt to be thankful – having her and your small fan-club around meant everyone else but Simon, Luke, Mark and I were scared to go near you! Oh, and that was why Arthur and Scott were less cruel to you than the others – if they hurt you enough to make you cry, then immediately they'd have to deal with that group!"

"Who were in that group, anyway?" Yasu asked, adjusting his glasses as John's blush continued to grow.

" _Are_ , they're still at it… I remember! Jade Silverman, Suzuka Torako, Mary Ann Pierce, Hannah Schwartz, Luce Edison, Benjamin Harrison and Albert Davidson!" Peter grinned, throwing open a door. "Here we are!"

We entered, the others dumping our things as Naru and I carried some of the equipment in, putting it on a set up table.

I turned around and started towards the door again, before being roughly shoved out of the way as a pair of girls threw themselves at John.

"Joh~n!" they sang, hugging him as he tried to quickly escape.

"H-hi Jade… Mary Ann…" John replied, "Can you please let go?"

"But you're so cu~te!" the girls replied, one pulling on John's cheek as the other hugged John a bit _too_ tightly.

I looked at Naru, and he sighed, before nodding.

Grabbing the girls by the collars of their shirts, I pulled them away as Yasu and Peter checked on John. Monk was also frowning at the pair.

"John is busy doing _work_. If you _ever_ come in here _again_ , I won't be as polite." Naru growled, and upon seeing the dark aura Naru was giving off, both girls gulped, as I walked them back to the door.

Taking one look at me and Monk, they ran at high speed down the corridor.

"Ah. I overheard them planning _something_ , but not exactly _what_ …" Peter mused.

"John, are you sure you want to stay here? I mean, you don't just have to deal with the ghosts, but also the fan-club…" Ayako asked.

"Don't worry! Simon's room is across from John's, so he could keep an eye on it. Mark's got trackers on them, so we can heard John away from them, I've hacked their laptops and have all their info on John and plans being recorded, some of it bugged so they can't view it, as well as the fact Luke's such a ladies' man and can sneak about well enough to see where they're sneaking…" Peter explained, "Also any bugs can be remove before they've even been activated!"

John paled slightly, and Yasu sighed.

"I thought I was the only one had to deal with rabid-fan-girls… But these ones are _organised_! Thanks for the help." Yasu joked. "Ah well! We can just be glad it's not _our dear narcissist_ this time. I can't bear with idea of losing him through his head exploding from over-grown-ego-syndrome."

"There isn't such a mental problem, and _exploding_ from _feelings_ is physically impossible." Naru replied.

"A~w! Is Big Boss jealous? No need to worry! Mai shall forever love you!" Yasu grinned.

For once Mai's aimed punch successfully hit its target.

"Owai~! Mai-cha~n! You meany!" Yasu whined.

"You deserved it." Mai pouted.

We all heard a click, and a panel in the ceiling was lifted away.

"Heya! Peter, one of the Fangirls tried bugging the doorway, but I installed the bug jammer, like you wanted me to!" a boy grinned, hanging upside-down through the hole. "Welcome back, John!"

The boy disappeared for a moment, before jumping through and landing in a crouch as the panel slid back in place.

I felt my patience getting close to none.

"Luke, shouldn't you use the door?" Peter scolded. "That way you just need to use _stealth_."

"Oh~! But it's like being a spy or something! Also it's fun!" Luke replied, ginger hair cut smoothly so the fringe just brushed one eye, long blackish-brown lashes framing cheeky green eyes. Freckles dusted his nose and cheeks, and he simply wore a purple striped shirt over brown trousers.

I grunted in disapproval, before removing the bug and dumping it in the bin.

I need some coffee…

Monk's POV:

The rest of the equipment was brought in, and we split off into our usual groups, though this time Peter helped me out as John and Mai went to make drinks.

"So… What was John like when he was little? He seems so calm now, was he always like that?" I asked.

"Pretty much, my memories are a bit cloudy, but I remember before his dad died, he wore basically what he does now. But… After his dad died, and he came here, he wore plain shirts and shorts, it was a bit like a code he and some other kid had… Urgh! It's so annoying! There was this other kid, a few years younger, who we also hung out with, but I can't remember!" Peter explained. "Then again, I'm handling it better than _after_ the accident. I remember that after we arrived back here, we hunted down a pile of photo-albums, and started flicking through, but even though it did put us through mental hell, we still couldn't remember!"

""Mental Hell"?" I repeated, puzzled.

"Passing out, headaches, nightmares… You know, that sort of stuff." Peter mused, before giggling. "Once it actually got Simon sleep-talking, and though John wanted to wake him up, we ended up recording the entire thing on my laptop! It was so funny! Even Simon himself started giggling when we listened back!"

"It must have been fun." I smiled. "Like a permanent sleep-over."

"Well, we managed to relocate John's parents' grajves. They're in the river at the end of the gardens, and they have this staue of an angel on top! When the water's clear, you can see it's got its hsnds clasped in prayer, and its wings are spread, as though to guard the grave from evil… Thinking about it, there was one other grave that we found standing out… It was after we did the mass-funeral for the eight that died in the accident, and there was one grave Luke and John reacted to – it was made with granite and gold lettering… But I've forgotten their name, just the fact they were one of the other church Priests." Peter explained.

We continued working through the rooms, and we bumped into John and Mai on the ground floor just as we began to return to base.

"Hello!" Peter grinned. "Still going to pay your respects?"

"I've arrived back! Of course!" John laughed.

"A~w! John's so adorably faithful!" Peter laughed, hugging his friend again. ""Honour thy mother and thy father!" said God, and so does John! Really, I would call him John's reincarnation, for he's just as faithful, and he has perfected the goals of Priesthood! Otherwise he's an angel set by heaven to guide us dumb souls!"

"Peter, there's no way that can be true…" John complained.

"Well, encountering a Demon, which proves Hell, must mean that there is a Heaven!" Peter pouted.

"Therefore there are such things as Angels and Saints, as well as Hybrid-people and Beings!"

John bowed his head slightly with a smile.

" _I can believe in that._ " he softly smiled, hardly audible, before returning to his normal state. "Anyway, how about you head back to base or help Sister Elsie with preparing Dinner? I think she'll need some help! Also I'll help out after visiting my parent's grave, there's so many to cater for, after all!"

Peter laughed.

"Asking me to do a job, like a Priest! Well, see you at Dinner! I've got to check my laptop for Fangirl-plan-updates!" he grinned, before racing off.

We watched him go, and I caught Mai's look of discomfort.

"[[Are you alright, Mai?]]" I asked, swapping back into Japanese.

"[[Yeah, I just got this feeling…]]" she mused, before snapping out of whatever it was to look at John.

"So! I get to meet your parents, now! Let's go!" she grinned at him, before pulling his arm. "See you back at base, Monk!"

"Bye! Pass along my greeting, as well!" I grinned back, watching them go, before returning to base with a slight shiver.

 _Just why did John say that?!_

 ** _Joker:_** **Neeee, everyo~ne! Double brackets "[[]]" means Japanese, sorry, but I'm saving the bold font for Author Messages and warning anyone reading just for NaruxMai moments (coming soon, please wait patiently for certain groups to get peeved)**

 ** _John:_** **Did I have to get a gang of fanpeople chasing me?**

 ** _Joker:_** **Sorry, John-ku~n! You're just so cute, and even Fanpeople can be useful, and I'll- ah, Reader-chan's most likely still reading this. *whispers spoiler into John's ear***

 _ **John:**_ **JOKER! Isn't that a little harsh!?**

 ** _Joker:_** **How else can I get Naru-kun to shut up and admit to himself and Mai-chan that he's perfect for her?**

 _ **Lin:**_ ***glares over from laptop***

 _ **Joker:**_ ***cowers behind John, using him as a human-cutie-shield***

 _ **Mai:**_ **Joker! You** ** _never_** **use people as shields! Even though Naru terrifies Monk** ** _he_** **doesn't use** ** _me_** **\- *sees Monk using her as a shield from Yasu and Naru*** ** _MONK!?_**

 ** _Lin:_** ***glare sharpens in on Joker, somehow managing to bend around John, as flames of red and black seem to peel off his aura, his shiki getting restless***

 _ **Joker:**_ ***starts panicking as sees said flames and shiki hurling towards her* BY~E! PLEASE R &R! *races away with shiki and flames in pursuit***

 _ **John:**_ ***looks, slightly miffed, at area where Joker was***

 ** _Mai:_** ***turns back on Monk as Naru's blue flames successfully chase Monk and Yasu* Hey, John? Want some tea?**

 ** _John:_** **Oh! Thanks Mai!**

 _ ***pair walk off***_


	5. The Garden

Mai's POV:

I followed John past two small fields of graves, and he helped me over a fence at the end, to which a step had been nailed into the lowest bar of the fence for walkers to use.

"Just down the path." he smiled, and we went down the narrow pubic footpath, arriving at a large wooden gate woven from twigs and bound neatly with string.

"[[I remember, after getting out of hospital, I came here, and I was told "Your Father did so much, it's a shame you can't remember him.", turns out, in among my memories, was when he and I mended this.]]" John smiled, his fingers running over the heart-shaped hole in the top.

We continued on in, and he guided me through a stream of multi-coloured paths to a small, clear river at the back.

"[[So?]]" I asked, and he knelt by the water, clasping his hands in prayer.

Leaning over the side, I saw the grave, and was slightly taken aback by the sight of the statue beneath the water.

However, instead of looking scary, somehow, the angel statue looked like it was merely asleep, it's hands resting lightly on its chest, though weathering had clearly set in, wearing away the wings and the end of the angel's gown.

A sparkle caught my eye in the water as John finished his prayers.

"Ne, what's that?" I asked, pointing.

He looked, and his face grew puzzled, gently reaching into the water and moving it to show a chain with an pendant, in which was engraved a heart-flower pattern.

 _Strange… Why is there a swirly-pattern carved through the middle?_

"It looks like a necklace… Maybe someone earlier came and put it there, it hasn't rusted yet, by the looks of it…" John mused, letting go as he stood, and I smiled at him, quickly saying my own prayers.

"It's nice meeting you, John's parents." I smiled, following John's lead.

"I'll come back later, with some new lilies." John noted, his eyes on a small bundle of withered lilies by the water.

"Let's go back, we don't want to be late for dinner!" I remembered, as my stomach rumbled.

John gave me a gentle smile.

"Sure!" he smiled, and we walked away.

I paused, as I felt as though something pass through me.

 _What was that feeling?_

"Mai?" John asked, and I was pulled from my revere.

"Sure." I replied, smiling as I forgot the feeling. "I was just thinking how pretty the garden is."

 _John has too much to deal with, anyway…_

"The Church owns it. It formerly belonged to the building at the other end of the footpath, but then it was given to the Church as a gift about three years before was born. I used to come here everyday, and I even help out with taking care of it." he smiled. "I would actually tend to it, but when I went to Japan, I simply sent tools and seeds, along with money, for the garden's care."

we returned to the Orphanage/Church, and parted ways.

Reaching Base, I heard Yasu talking, and I slipped in, remaining by the door.

"I found the information you wanted, but I'm curious – why would Big Boss want little handsome me to find out all this on poor little John?" he asked. "And while Mai is-… Ah(!)."

his eyes fell on me.

"Why are you searching around about John?" I asked.

Not just him, his friends as well." Yasu sighed.

"Eh~?!" I exclaimed. "Isn't that-!"

"Not while working. I just want to find out what it is everyone's afraid of." Naru retorted. "Or do I need to explain it in terms so even _you_ can understand.?"

I glared at him, my cheeks puffing out in annoyance.

"It's still not right to be researching people's paths!" I yelled.

"Tea." Was all Naru replied, and I slammed the door behind me…

I smiled as John checked the food in the oven.

"Thanks for the help, John!" I grinned, picking up the tray. "Now to deal with that narcissist again."

"It's alright, I like helping people, and we've only been here for about an hour…" John replied, sweat-dropping.

"Sure! Alright, see you at Lunch!" I agreed, as John held the door for me.

I looked back as I heard the door close, and I relaxed.

"Naru, you idiot, he's too innocent to have any reason to be hiding something… Even if he doesn't mean to…" I sighed, continuing to the staircase. "WAAH! IT'S AMNESIA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

I grumpily continued on, but about eight doors away from base I suddenly felt that feeling again.

I looked around me.

"Hey, Mai, you alright?" Monk asked.

"Yeah… Just a feeling…" I replied…

 ** _Joker:_** **Waah! Meany Naru! Ask first, baka!**

 ** _Naru:_** **Says the person who doesn't ask before they plan every last piece of the plot.**

 ** _Joker:_** **I got confused on this chapter, OK? Mai~cha~n! Help!**

 ** _Mai:_** **How? I gave him his last cup about three minutes ago!**

 ** _Naru:_** ***Holds up empty teacup***

 ** _Mai:_** ***Refills* Hey, so how many chapters before the end?**

 ** _Joker:_** **I can't-**

 ** _Yasu:_** ***sidles in with a Thornton's Double Scoop Fudge and Mint Ice Cream***

 **... About 15 to 20. *grabs ice cream***

 ** _Mai:_** **Promise not to embarrass me?**

 ** _Joker:_** **... *sees no treats* ... Can't say...**

 ** _Naru:_** **Joker-san should be revising, her last GCSE test is on Friday, in the morning.**

 ** _Joker:_** ***shies away at the word "Revising"* I hate revision. It stops me from my writing.**

 ** _Naru:_** **GCSEs in England define which Sixth Form or University you go too - didn't you say that your sixth option in case you can't get two of the others was Physics?**

 ** _Joker:_** **Only for the Clockwork! I do Private Study for that!**

 ** _Yasu:_** **Ne~ are you going to have Lin and John ****, **** or both?**

 ** _Joker:_** ***blushes bright red* That's Telling! Same for these two! *points at Mai and Naru***

 ** _Mai:_** **W-What?**

 ** _Joker:_** ***slices away Naru's shirt with Katana and Watazashi***

 ** _Mai:_** ***Takes one look and has a nose-bleed***

 ** _Naru:_** ***Glares***

 ** _Yasu:_** ***takes pictures* I'm gunna show these to the Naru-Fan-club! *runs away with Naru hot on his tail***

 ** _Joker:_** **Ah... Anyway, R &R, please... I'll just, erm... *tries not to stare with Demonic-Hunger at blood* clean up and return to my Tea Party in the depths of Hell until I write the next chapter...**


	6. The Hantenshisue

Yasu's POV:

I followed John into the room we'd be sharing, and John carefully pulled his draws opening, displaying yet more clothing.

Pulling some of this out, he put it on top of his dresser, and placed the clothing from his suitcase in the cleared space.

"So who're they, then?" I asked, smiling at the two bears by the head of John's bed.

John reached over, and pulled the pair into a hug (cue photographs!).

"Timothy and Edward." John said at last. "The small one – Timothy – I got given when I was really small, the other one – Edward – I got when I came here, since all they say that they remember from back then was me playing with Timothy…"

I pulled open a drawer, finding them all to be empty, and I neatly organised my things, pushing our now-empty suitcases under my bed.

"Wow, she wasn't kidding when Mother Silvester says there was only room for two in here… No offence." I remarked.

"None taken." John smiled tucking his toys under his duvet on his pillow. "To be honest, it always felt lonely being in here by myself…"

"That's weird." I replied. "I mean, you always slept in here alone, so you should actually feel weird with me here."

"Not really… It's more like I prefer you being in here with me…" John replied, shaking his head. "I don't know why, though…"

"Hey, you've got tones of books beneath your bed!" I grinned, pulling out one of the huge books.

"They're from my studies…" John explained, looking embarrassed.

"Really?" I asked, looking surprised. "Some of these look to be as old as you!"

"Some are." John agreed, pulling the book I held from my hands, and putting it back. "Some are even from my old house. It's a shame I can't remember."

I caught sight of a white powder around the base of the walls, reaching all the way around the room, and took a pinch of it carefully between my fingers.

 _Salt?_

"Come on, else the others will be wondering where we are." I grinned, standing.

"Oh, sure." John agreed, and I opened the door, watching him leave as I quickly glanced at the underside of John's bed.

I shook my head, and followed John…

I was awoken in the middle of the night to see the curtains were somehow open.

"John? John?" I hissed, and I sat up, putting on my glasses.

"Huh?" John moaned, before propping himself on one arm.

 _How can one guy be as photogenic as me?_

There came a soft pecking, and we looked to see a white bird perched on the sill outside.

John got up, and opened his window, the bird flying in and landing on his waiting hand.

"Shh, what's wrong?" John whispered, his eyes softening at the bird.

The door opened.

"Hey? You guys alright?" Monk asked, opening the door.

"Yeah, sure… Why?" I asked, as John turned to look at Monk.

"The temperature outside your room dropped, but only just around your door." Monk replied. I pointed to the window, looking myself.

Then I saw something on John's back.

"Hey, John, don't freak out or anything, but you haven't been to any tattoo parlours, right?" I asked, and John tilted his head in curiosity.

"No… Even if I new where one was, I still wouldn't go." John replied. "I don't like needles."

I got out of bed, and pulled the collar of his shirt down a bit more, as the bird perched on John's bed.

"Hey! What are you doing?" John replied, jerking away.

"Take off your shirt." I ordered, stepping in the way of the moonlight falling on the mark.

The mark disappeared, and I stepped away again, to which the mark appeared again, and tried turning around to see what I was doing.

"Shirt, off, now." I ordered. "Or I'll do it. I'm not joking."

John did so, and I gasped, grabbing my mobile and turning it to camera mode.

"What?!" John asked, and the mark glowed slightly.

"John~! Calm down please!" I complained, putting on my whining-tone to try and make things slightly more light.

Monk reached to move John so he could see, but I slapped Monk's hand away.

"Now, now, Monk! You can't exploit John so easily!" I joked, taking pictures. "There we are! Now you can put your shirt back on and we can go and see our darling Lin back at base!"

"Ah! Wait!" John exclaimed, blushing bright red.

"Hu~ is our dear little John finally admitting how much he likes his dear Kojou?" I mused, making him blush more, before we ran back to base.

"Hey, Lin, have you ever seen something like this?" I asked, showing the mark to Lin.

"Which one of you?" Lin asked as soon as he saw it, and I nodded in John's direction as he tried hiding his eyes behind his hair as he blushed.

 _Damn adorable._

I shook the thought out of my head, as Lin walked up to John.

"Can I…" he asked, and John's blush reached his ears as he nodded.

"All… Alright…" John stuttered, and he took off his shirt again.

Lin opened one of the curtains, and the moonlight fell on John again, lighting up his back, and the marks glowed brighter.

"John, take a few deep breaths, and let yourself relax." Lin ordered. John shakily drew a breath, and as he calmed down, the mark dimmed, to which Lin shifted his hair out of the way slightly. Monk, I suggest you get Naru, now."

"Why?" Monk and John asked.

Lin shot a death-glare at Monk, who immediately ran to fetch Naru.

"What is it?" John asked, trying to see for himself. I frowned.

" Here." I smiled, showing the pictures to John, and he looked upset.

"What?… How?" he asked, looking as though he was going to cry or pass out in a moment.

The door opened, and the others came in.

"Ayako was already awake!" Monk squeaked under Lin's glare as Ayako rushed over to look, and I had to support John as his legs decided to give out, and the mark glowed slightly brighter.

"What is it?" Naru asked, looking at Lin.

"Hey, are you going to let John go now, or are you going to let him be scared to death? That's unfair!" Mai exclaimed, and I picked up John's shirt from where it had fallen.

"I'll e-mail the pictures I took." Yasu stated, and a moment later Yasu's phone gave a buzz and Lin's laptop screen lit up with a mail sign.

"Not yet." Naru stated, and I pulled out a chair, letting John sit down. "We still don't know what this mark is, nor what it means."

"It's something akin to a birth mark." Lin stated. "But I've only seen this type once before."

"I remember. I, too, have seen it before, when I was in Greece." Masako mused from behind her sleeve. "A shop owner known for medical skills had something similar on her back, though it had a lot more branches…"

"It's a hantenshisue – a half-angel's mark. It's similar to an angel's mark, but it is commonly isn't silver, and instead of bearing their role, it acts like a time-line…" Lin agreed.

"Can you understand them?" Naru asked, and Lin nodded, getting out a sheet of plain paper and copying the mark carefully.

"The central shape gives us basic features, such as gender, angel-parent, ambition, and so on. The length of this branch is the age, and branching off of it is height, and weight. That branch is relationships, the colour states the feelings about that person, and the area on the main branch is where during the person's conscious life their relationship with that person began. These other six branches are for Health, Thoughts, Faith, Vitues, Knowledge and Dreams." Lin explained. "However, the mark for who his angel parent is has been removed, and it's as though the smaller branches have been torn off on all of these ones. I've heard that that can only happen if the person has been in a very-near-death situation. The branches will stll be alive, just attached to things that John found of high value during his past."

Mai's brow furrowed, and pointed to a part near the base of the relationship branch.

"So what's that tiny branch for?" Mai asked.

"That's one of the severed branches, and that symbolises family." Lin stated, starting to look slightly annoyed.

"So, of that, would you get two branches for parents, and other branches for family members, further along being younger siblings or adoptive parents?" she mused, before clicking her fingers.

"There's a necklace on the angel statue of John's parents' grave! It hasn't rusted in the slightest, even though it's underwater, and its got this really weird engraving on the lid!"

The door shot open suddenly, and the bird from earlier flew in.

"Why is there a _bird_ in here?" Naru asked.

"That' the one that woke me up!" I remarked, and the bird hopped about on John's lap, pecking every now and then at John, and a grin slid onto my face. "It's wanting you to cheer up, John! That's why it's being so lively!"

"Yeah… Thank you, little bird." John smiled sadly.

 _Poor John..._

 ** _Joker:_** **In Kanji "Hantenshisue" looks like this:** **半天使標** **, and I literally pulled that out of my Kanji Learner's Dictionary, so if I got it wrong, please tell me.**

 ** _Naru:_** **Of course, it's** ** _you_** **after all.**

 ** _Joker:_** **Hey! Mistranslating French is TONES different! I only got it wrong by ONE word! ONE!**

 ** _Naru:_** **Could have fooled Mai.**

 ** _Mai:_** **Hey! That's mean! Also you can't even READ Kanji!**

 ** _Joker:_** **WAH! Now I won't let you join me in my tea-party! Only Mai, Gene and the others can join!**

 ** _Naru:_** ***glares***

 ** _Joker:_** **Watashi no Paruti! You must apologise, first! R &R to join, everyone! We have Oolong, Earl Grey, Raspberry, and the very rare Rainbow Tea!**


	7. Li

Naru's POV:

Lin and I waited until the others left.

"You weren't saying everything." I remarked. "You had that look on your face."

"John has had enough shock to deal with." Lin stated with a frown.

"Well?"

"Last time… About a day after his mark showed up completely, the person I knew gained their wings. They could decide when to have them out, but the first time they gained them, it ripped their back right open, even if their back healed right after, it was like their entire body was in fire, for them…" Lin stated. "Turned out, even though everyone thought he was born f a high-levelled angel, it was the lowest levelled angel you can think of… Lucky idiot…"

He was looking at the door, and his eyes showed a very rare feeling of his; remorse.

"Who was this associate? I didn't hear about him in your file," I asked.

Lin was silent for a moment.

"I'll read John's mark. Only certain people can read them, though. Just be glad that you can't." he said at last.

I cupped my chin as I thought over all the puzzle pieces.

He's hiding something, as is everyone else in the orphanage. But what?…

I watched Lin as he carefully wrote down all the mark said, and I took it from him once he had finished, and calculating who was who in the relationship section.

"We'll keep this secret from everyone else." I ordered, and Lin nodded as he got up.

"Sure." he grunted, as the door opened, and Monk re-entered.

"I need some coffee." Monk complained, as Lin passed him, silently agreeing with a nod.

Lin's POV:

The next day, we met back up in the office.

"John, Mai, I want you to go and collect the necklace. Yasu, I want you to research the crash, and then anyone you find interesting within it. Monk, Ayako, I want charms made for John and Yasu's room, as well as for the base, as well as the rest of the adults interviewed. I'll stay in base to watch the cameras as Lin gets some rest." Naru ordered.

"I should stay here." I replied.

"Jeez, Lin! You were up all night! Your batteries must be pretty low by now!" Monk grinned.

I shot Monk and icy glare, not in the mood to have him telling me what to do.

"Lin, I'm ordering you to get some sleep!" Naru growled, and John gave a sheepish smile.

"You won't be any use later, if you're tired, Lin. Maybe some rest would do you some good, after all…" John commented. I mentally sighed at John's smile, rising from my chair and going to the door.

"Fine. But in that case I'm taking the next night watch as well." I stated, before leaving…

I was woken by a soft knock on the door at 4pm, and I dressed quickly, before opening it.

"What?" I asked.

"Hey, um, so I was talking with one of the Sisters, and there's this little girl called Li, who won't talk to anyone but this toy of hers, and when she does she talks in Chinese, s could you… Maybe…" Mai asked. "Also, people seemed a little worried about her safety lately, so…"

"Fine." I replied, opening the door fully, and following Mai down and into the playroom set up for the children.

"Oh, thank you. Li's just over there, the black-haired girl with the blue fox toy." a rather plump lady smiled, and I silently walked over.

"[Feng's a good fox, so Feng won't leave Li! But Li wishes Feng would save her from the big scary man…]" the girl mused in my home language.

"[Hello.]" I said, sitting beside her.

Not another kid I have to care for… What does she mean by "big, scary man" though…

The little girl gasped.

"[You understand Li?]" she asked.

"[My name's Kojou Lin, and I've been brought in to deal with a problem this place has.]" I replied plainly.

"[So you can take the scary man away?]" she asked.

"[Who's he?]"

"[He's the big, scary man who comes in through the closed door of my room at night. He does stuff and leaves Li feeling icky, even though Sister Emily helps Li have a bath every night before Li goes to bed!]"

"[He comes through your closed bedroom door?]"

"[Uh-huh! He takes away the covers and hurts Li! Li tries avoiding sleeping in the room she has by going to the kitchen, but the scary man always drags Li back! Then it's twice as bad!]"

I frowned.

"[Why won't you talk English and let Sister Emily know what's happening?]"

"[Li's scared of speaking wrong… The scary man only wants Li to talk in English when Li's with him, and says that no one else will understand what Li is saying…]"

Mai came over, and I looked up to her.

"[[Where's Sister Emily?]]" I ask, switching to Japanese.

"[[She's the one who asked about you.]]" Mai replied.

"[[Fetch her. Li understands English, but she's to scared to actually say anything with it.]]" I explained, and Mai did so, the pair sitting beside us.

"So why is Li scared of talking English? I've met many children who can't talk English, and even little babies can't. It's alright for you to say what you want, after all." Sister Emily asked.

"[Li's scared of being punished, and scared of saying stuff wrong.]" Li replied, making me have to translate.

"[Li, it's fine if you don't talk English well the first time around. Over in Japan, when learning English Japanese people always mix up the "l"s, "v"s and "r"s of the English alphabet. Even I had trouble in my pronunciation when I was learning, as well.]" I stated.

"I still haven't gained the full ability to talk English yet, even if I'm the top of my class and have Lin and Naru helping me." Mai smiled, letting her accent seep in a bit thicker. Li looked slightly confused for a moment.

"S-so it's OK if I mess up?" Li asked, finally in English, though her accent was very thick.

"Of course! Trial and Error is part of being human! Many wonderful things have happened through it, including the understanding of languages through it." Sister Emily smiled. Li tilted her head.

"Li would like to stay near Lin, please." she asked at last. "Li's full name is Li Nuo Chu, Li's glad to find someone else of my language! So's Feng!"…

I sighed as I leaned back, relaxing in my seat – charms had also been put up in Li's room after my report, so she should be safe.

Ayako entered just as Yasu left, indicating it to be about one in the morning.

"Hi, Lin." she nodded, and I ignored her as I swept my non-electromagnetic eye over the monitors again.

Then I returned to focusing on the read-outs on my laptop.

"Wait, look at the camera outside Li's room." Ayako mused, and I looked up, before standing.

Li poked her head out of her room, before walking into the hallway.

She paused, and the temperature began to drop beside her.

"Lin!" Ayako ordered as I quickly took off my headphones and ran towards her room.

"Lin! The ghost's like the one in the picture Mai drew of that shady Priest!" Ayako called, and I ran faster, skidding around the corner towards Li and the ghost.

A tentacle of shadow suddenly slammed into my chest, throwing me backwards.

"Got you." the ghost grinned, and my shiki quickly fended off another tentacle as I got up.

"Leave Li alone." I growled, before attempting to take a step forward as I saw my shiki freeze.

I couldn't.

"Do you like it? It's invisible shadows!" the Priest's ghost grinned, before I felt pain enter my limbs. I just managed to see more tentacles slicing at my skin, and I silently cursed.

A tentacle suddenly sank deep into the skin between my shoulder blades, and I gasped, my eyes widening as I felt my skin break.

My… Eye….

I felt my mind go slightly fuzzy, as I started to retaliate…

I landed as the ghost ran off, and I saw Li's fear.

Footfalls.

I looked down, seeing the amount of blood, just before my legs gave out.

"Lin!" Li exclaimed, and I gave her a faint smile as I saw Naru and Monk.

"I won't… Let him get you…" I panted.

Then I completely collapsed as I felt myself falling…

 ** _Joker:_** **Ooopsies...**

 ** _Mai:_** **Joker! You shouldn't go round, letting people be turned int mince-meat! Especially Canon Characters!**

 ** _Joker:_** **But how else can we get a cute LinxJohn scene (I'll warn you guys who don't wanna read that! Even though I know it'll be cute!) Or a cute NaruxMai scene!?**

 ** _Mai:_** ***blushes* W-wait, N-Naru a-and M-me?!**

 ***Naru walks in from having a shower after turning Yasu to pulp and taking back certain topless pics, drying hair and towel wrapped vv neatly around waist***

 ** _Naru:_** **What's all this idiocy I'm hearing about pairings?**

 ** _Mai:_** ***blush deepens* PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!... HENTAI!**

 ** _Naru:_** ***raises eyebrow* Is this because you can't withstand my perfection?**

 ** _Mai:_** **Yo-you're p-practically... *doesn't manage to finish sentence due to quantity of blushing***

 ** _Naru:_** ***tilts head, before stepping towards Mai* Mai... *leans in extremely close* Tea.**

 ** _Mai:_** ***runs away at high speed***

 ** _Joker:_** **Waah! R &R, everyone! I'm gunna try and get Mai and Naru to-... *had frgotten Naru was behind her* *rns away herself at high speed***


	8. Lover Spats

**_Joker:_** **WAH! RIGHT! My warning about the bxb stuff shall be underlined, and here's that Lin-and-John scene I warned/promised you guys about! I'll also put a summary sentence at the end devoid of bxb stuff, 'K? (Just gotta boot certain things out tha way first...).**

Monk's POV:

Naru and I carried Lin to the Medical Ward as Ayako came running.

"What the hell did he do? His body's almost as gone as Naru after using his PK!" Ayako exclaimed, making Naru curse, and pull off Lin's shirt, displaying his back.

"What the heck!" I exclaimed.

Two symbols were burnt deep into his back (妖童) below a seal, and below that was a darker version of John's mark, but fully intact.

What surprised me most, though, was the deep gash was running through the seal.

"The seal on his blood was destroyed. He warned me about it when I saw it once." Naru frowned. "He wouldn't tell me exactly where he gained it, though."

"Forget about that, we need to stop the blood-loss." Ayako ordered.

I frowned, and helped patch Lin up…

Lin's POV:

I awoke to bright light, and I immediately moved to shield my eyes.

"You're awake!" I heard, and I looked to my left to see John by my side. I raised a brow, and John flushed up and sat down. "I-I mean, you've been out for about three hours, and it's not like I was waiting the entire time-…"

He was only managing to embarrass himself further.

 _ **COMMENCE BXB MODE! (urgh, Lin's gunna be so hard to not turn OOC…)**_

I sighed, and started to sit up.

"Lin! You're not meant to try and-" John panicked.

"John?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he replied, as I finished sitting up.

"Stop being adorably embarrassed and calm down." I ordered, looking at him, and his blush returned. He nodded, before looking at my back.

"Lin…"

"Hmm?"

"Who gave you that (um) mark?" he asked, and I gave him a soft smile.

"I don't exactly… The reason for it is because of my Dad…" I replied, and John tilted his head.

 _Why does he have to look this… Cute?_

 _Hang on, I said "adorably embarrassed" and "cute" on the subject of the same person…_

I tried hiding the faint blush I felt coming.

"Who was your dad?" John asked, curious.

"…You know one of your parents was an angel?"

"Sort of?"

"Well, mine was the opposite."

John's face turned to one of surprise.

"Oh…" was all he said, and I felt a small frown on my lips.

"John…" I asked, as a question came into my mind because of this.

"Yeah?"

"…You don't… Hate me… Do you?"

This situation's getting too embarrassing…

"Well… It's not like who your parents are completely changes your personality, so I don't really see a reason to…" John replied, twiddling his thumbs. His blush grew. "Also… To be honest… I sort of… Admire how well you work…"

His blush reached his ears.

 _ **END OF BXB BIT! Summary sentence; Lin revels he's part demon, and though both get super-embarrassed, John admits he doesn't mind… (that all is mostly dialogue, to tell the truth… TTwTT)**_

At this point, Yasu came bounding in.

"Morning!" he cheered, and he saw John's face. "You old dog! What did you do to embarrass our dear John?"

I grunted, and John's blush deepened.

"I-it nothing… I just didn't know he was part demon…" John replied, and Yasu's grin broadened into "creepy".

"Has he shown you his version of your mark yet?" Yasu asked, and I shot him a glare as John looked at me in shock.

Sighing, I pointed to the small of my back, and Yasu moved my bandages slightly.

I resisted the urge to hit his elbow to get him off.

John was silent for a moment.

"That's weird." John mused, and I looked at him, causing his blush to increase again. "I mean, I'm looking at the lines, yet it's like I'm able to turn them into dates and words easily… All but for where my mark has been… Removed…"

Yasu finally let go.

"Naru actually showed us the translation for those marks, but I'm just here to say – none of us can really hate you for it; we've known you for so long, it's hard to hate you." Yasu grinned. "Alright! I'll get you two some breakfast!"

Yasu walked out as Peter entered.

Looks like I'm going to be forced to stay in here for a while…

 _ **YEY! Right, for all those patient NaruxMai fans, I'm writing this next bit.**_

 _ **Thank you for being patient with this Tea-and-cake-loving Demon!**_

Naru's POV:

I looked up as I smelt tea, and Mai gave me a small smile as she handed it over.

I put down my book, and took the cup, using it to hide my blush as she sat beside me by the monitors.

 _What is this feeling?_

I placed my tea on the desk, and moved to watch the higher-up cameras, a yawn forcing it's way out my mouth.

"Maybe you should go back to bed." Monk said, taking off the headset and letting it sit around his neck.

"We're on a case." I replied.

"Naru, you said so yourself when you send us off to bed "I don't want to be working with some bumbling half-wits due to lack of sleep."" Mai quoted, and I smirked at her choice of words.

"Well, I believe that I still can think just as well, seeing as my brain works differently." I retorted.

"But you don't want to lose any of your precious braincells, do you?" Mai asked.

"At least I have more." I smirked.

Mai's face turned to one of fury, and I was quickly seized, before being dragged to my room.

"You either _sleep_ or _I'm_ going to stop you from leaving this room for an _entire_ hour!" she snapped, pushing me inside.

"There's a hole in your plan." I noted. "The bathroom's not joined onto this room."

Mai blushed bright red.

"W-well I-in th-that case…" she attempted, before quickly running away.

"Idiot, she could have just said please." I sighed, before closing the door to get my things and change.

 _I might as well…_

 ** _Joker:_** **AT LAST!**

 ** _Naru:_ Idiot.**

 ** _Joker:_ Hey! I've been having to deal with my laptop being banned from my bedroom, where usually write!**

 ** _Mai:_ Why?**

 ** _Joker:_ I didn't exactly go to bed upon the instant I was ordered... (seriously, it's like _okaasan_ expects me to have a TARDIS or something...)**

 ** _Naru:_ Then why do you have dark circles under your eyes?**

 ** _Joker:_ ... Something along the lines of remembering I had a refill A4 Lined Paper Pad by my bed along with an Artist's selection of pens... So I end up actually going to sleep during the Hour of the Ox?...**

 ** _Naru:_ So you basically won't stop writing until between one o'clock and 4.**

 ** _Joker:_ It's the _holidays_!**

 ** _Naru:_ Idiot.**

 ** _Joker:_ *runs off and hugs Mai as cries away pain of the Naru-scorn* Meany! I'm going and helping you achieve your dreams and you hurt me!**

 ** _Mai:_ NARU! Apologise!**

 ** _Naru:_ *somehow ended up meditating over Joker's words, and has a tiny blush on his face as his eyes fall on Mai* ...**

 ** _Mai:_ *starts walking away***

 ** _F.M.:_ *sneaks up behind Naru and hits switch inside his head***

 ** _Joker:_ OI! You're not here 'til the next chapter! Leave! *cowers under resulting glare***

 ** _Naru:_ *chases Mai with dark look in eyes***

 ** _Joker:_ WAH! TURN HIM BACK BEFORE HE-... **

**...**

 **...**

 **Ah... Too late...**

 ** _F.M.:_ *floats away.***

 _ **Joker:**_ **R &R PLEASE!**


	9. Father Matthew

Monk's POV:

I sighed, and leant back in my chair, stretching.

Silence – the result of children at school…

"There's been no activity for almost nine hours… Yet the ghost is so strong…" I mused.

"I'm going to check on Peter and the others. Back in a bit." John smiled.

A glare shot my way from Lin, though it was weakened by how ridiculous Lin looked with blankets on his seat to try and keep him more comfortable while healing.

"Shounen, go with him." I order, and Yasu nods, before following John, grabbing a transmitter as he goes…

Yasu's POV:

John and I walked to the end of the west corridor, and John raised his hand to knock.

The door suddenly opened, a boy with wild brown hair and matching eyes almost slamming into him.

"WAH! John!" they exclaimed.

"Ah! Sorry, Simon." John meekly laughed at the same time.

"It's alright. Hey, guys, it's John!" Simon called opening the door wide and getting out our way. "He's got specs with him, too."

"Simon, his name is Osamu Yasuhara." Peter scolded.

"Ah! Sorry…" Simon grinned.

"We just call him Yasu." John admitted.

"Wah! No fair!" a boy with sparkling, emerald eyes and glistening black hair complained. "This person's the one John shares with? Oh, to see that perfectly smoothed back, the delicate chest, the-"

"Luke, you're sounding as bad as those idiots from his fan-club." Peter retorted.

"Well, those fair ladies are irresistible, especially since none of them throw themselves at my feet as often as all the other beautiful Orphanage flowers." Luke replied.

"Dumb Narcissist." a third boy (azure eyes, black glasses and caramel hair) grunted.

"Mark." Peter growled, and something bleeped, making Mark turn around in his chair.

"F14, B1, G2." he stated simply, to which Luke stood, straightening the tailored suit he wore.

"I'm up! See you in a bit!" Luke grinned, before walking past us. "Nice to meet you, Yasu!"

"Same here." I smiled…

Once Peter had updated us two on the situation, the three of us started to return to base, though Peter had me stay behind a bit.

"You remember your room's layout, right?" he asked quietly.

"Why?" I whispered, with a nod.

"Guess which room F14 is." Peter replied.

"…It's ours?" I mused, before smirking. "We'll be fine… One, there's charms, two, we share a dorm-room back in Japan – I've learnt how to set up a few traps in my time, and John's learnt how to avoid them."

"Interesting." Peter grinned, before raising his voice. "Joh~n! Wait up!"

John paused, and I sped up to stand by him.

Peter continued walking at his usual speed, and took longer to reach us.

" _This old man, he played one…_ " a voice sang. " _He played knick-knack on my thumb…_ "

John stiffened, and I felt the temperature drop, the tune continuing as I was roughly thrown to a side, hitting the wall.

"Ow." I complained, before realising my legs had been frozen in place somehow.

I looked up, seeing Peter had been knocked away as well, and John was frozen to the spot, still standing.

"John!" I yelled, trying to get up, and failing as something was pulling me back down.

John didn't move. The ghost from last time materialising as he walked up behind John, still singing.

" _This old man, he played two, he played knick-knack on my shoe…_ "

I tried getting up again.

"JOHN! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Ayako roared through my transmitter.

We heard running footsteps.

"Fou~nd you(!)…" the ghost hummed, wrapping his arms around John. "My little angel-doll…"

John didn't react, and Monk came in view, Lin's shiki whizzing forward.

The ghost whispered something, and John went limp in the ghost's arms.

"JOHN!" Monk yelled. "NAUMAKUSANMANDABAZARADANKAN!"

The ghost disappeared in a burst of shadows for a moment, before reforming in the same spot.

"NAUMAKUSANMANDABAZARADANKAN!" Monk yelled again, taking a step as Peter quickly ran and kicked the ghost, which gave a roar of pain, before trying to grab Peter, who dodged, pulling a vial from his pocket, and throwing the contents at the ghost.

"INSOLENT BOY, PETER!" the ghost roared, and Peter grinned.

"LEAVE JOHN ALONE!" Peter retorted.

The ghost recoiled, and Peter moved forward.

"Why don't my shadows work?!" the ghost growled.

"The great worth of which it speaks is for you who have faith. For those who have no faith, the stone which the builders rejected has become not only the corner-stone, but also "A stone to trip over, a rock to stumble against"" Peter recited with a grin. "From the First Letter of Peter."

The ghost gave a roar of indignation, and vanished…

Lin's POV:

It appears it's my turn.

I sat by the hospital bed, watching John.

He hasn't woken up since whatever that _thing_ did to him…

I sighed, and shifted in my chair, feeling slightly uncomfortable without my doughnut-shaped cushion.

I sighed, and looked at the clock.

The school children – and Li – will be arriving back in about half an hour…

Then I froze as my shiki and I felt something enter the room, and turned to see a boy's ghost standing by John's bed. He looked to be about ten to thirteen years old.

"Father's so mean, even Daddy wouldn't allow this." they mused, trying to hug John, before sighing and looking at me.

I stared back, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Hey, Mister Lin, don't feel sad, John'll be OK, you just have to wake him up…" he smiled.

"Who are you?" I asked. "How?"

"You already know who I am… I'm the little boy who Father Matthew tricked." the boy replied, his eyes saddening. "And who's own brother had his memories stolen, that must be kept secret until they return…" he shook his head, and moved to speak into John's ear.

"By the Grace of God, Amen." the boy whispered, before vanishing.

John stired, and his eyes opened as I heard Ayako's return.

"HEY! HE'S AWAKE!" I called, before the door crashed open a while later, with Monk, Yasu and Ayako rushing in with Mai behind them…

 ** _Joker:_ Waah! MEANYMEANYMEANYMEANYMEANY! *repeatedly hits Priest-Spirit on head with frying-pan***

 ** _John:_ Um, Joker?**

 ** _Joker:_ *continues calling F.M. a meany as hits him***

 ** _John:_ Joker? *starts to look afraid***

 ** _Lin:_ *grabs frying-pan and hauls Joker off F.M.***

 ** _F.M.:_ *zips away after quickly kissing John's cheek***

 ** _Lin:_ *sends hell-flames after F.M. as wraps arms protectively around John to stave off any other attacks***

 ** _John:_ *blushes bright red and stiffens, not knowing what to do***

 ** _Joker:_ OH YEAH! I JUST REMEMBERED!**

 ** _Mai:_ What? *watches F.M. pass her as walks over with Naru***

 ** _Naru:_ Your braincells finally recalled something, congrats.**

 ** _Joker:_ *glares* anyway, when I meant "M", I meant "PERVERT'S MASOCHISTIC BEHAVIOUR!" Like hell I'm gunna go and write... write... *blushes, and quickly hides in pile of cuddly toys***

 ** _Naru:_ *punches F.M. right back into Lin's hell-flames as soon as F.M. tries nabbing Naru***

 ** _Mai:_ *squeaks* HENTAI! *blindly kick's F.M.'s left-behind shadows away from close-proximity as hides face in hands***

 ** _Lin & Naru:_ *murders shadows AND F.M.***

 ***sign pops up through cuddly-toy heap***

 _ **sign**_ ** _:_ TRIPLE R PEOPLE!**

 ** _Mai:_ "Triple R"?**

 ** _Naru:_ Relax, Read and Review**


	10. Classical Conditioning-James

Naru's POV:

"…It was like all I could sense was that song, and the ghost…" John explained. "Sorry for worrying you…"

"That's fine. Ayako, is he allowed to return to Base? He should remain in places where charms are as much as possible." I replied. "Or at least have Monk or Lin with him."

"I'll take him back." Monk smiled, standing.

"Mai, go with them." I ordered, and she gave a loud humph of annoyance before leaving with them.

We waited until they had done so.

"It's weird…" Ayako mused.

"What?" Lin asked.

"My check-up showed that it's like nothing had happened to John, as though his body had been put on pause and no actual thing had happened." Ayako mused. "Had something been into put into his system, I would have detected it, but the only way I can see it is like it's possibly something mental…"

"Classical conditioning." I found myself saying, and the others looked at me in surprise. "It's basic Biology from the Additional Science section of a British GCSE – a man called Ivan Pavlov figured this out through measuring the amount of saliva a dog gained over time in reaction to a certain stimulus before feeding them. Through this he discovered that that as soon as the dogs met with this stimulus later on, they automatically created more saliva in preparation for food."

"I remember that now – it was either ringing a bell, or the man's scent itself." Ayako mused." But why-"

"So your basically saying, that tune got drilled into John's head to make him go all hazy?!" Yasu exclaimed. I nodded, making Ayako's brow furrow as Lin's aura turned darker and Masako covered her mouth. Yasu merely adopted his thinking pose.

"So that means John must know the ghost." Masako commented. Silence fell for a moment.

"The thing that woke John up…" Lin finally explained. "A boy's ghost said directly into his ear "By the Grace of God, Amen."…" I sent him a look to have him continue. "When I asked, he said he was tricked by someone called "Father Matthew" and that his brother's memories got stolen until some point in the future…"

"John." the others replied.

"John's little brother…" Ayako mused.

As though summoned, a little boy stepped up beside Ayako from nowhere.

"You're John's little brother?" I asked, turning to the boy as the idiots drew away in surprise for a moment. Lin's shiki floated around it for a moment, before deeming him as "Not a Threat" and returning to Lin's side.

"The main ghost you have to deal with is the one from earlier. He's Father Matthew." the boy's ghost nodded. "He's not a ghost, though; he steals energy from his victims to make himself stronger, so he's more of a ghoul or Demon…"

"Then why doesn't he take your energy, and remove your existence?" Ayako asked.

"Because then he doesn't have access to the whole building like he does through controlling me." the boy smiled sadly, before wings ruptured from his back, though the pearl-white feathers were stained with black, even the gold line along the top of his wings had dark stains turning parts of it as dark as night.

At this, the shiki shot forward, circling him.

The boy drew from inside his shirt a picture book, on which the cover had a curling design.

"That's-!" Lin exclaimed, and the boy tucked it away again, with a nod.

"But I can't give it to him until Daddy hands over the locket." he explained. "We took them in a certain pattern, so therefore they must be returned in accordance with that pattern."

"Why?" I asked.

"It won't fit back together, otherwise, as for the objects… Only John knows the reasons for them, however, I remember this book! He and I read it a lot together!" the boy grinned. "There are three objects – a pendant, this book, and one other thing – for each one, there is a Keeper, and they're the three of us residing here! Well, the three of us residing inside the building, at least…"

"Inside? That means there's more outside?" I asked, and the boy nodded.

"All the ones in the Graveyard! But they're all friendly ones that don't really get angry… One of John and I's memories proves that! For All Hallows Eve!" he grinned, before he tilted his head, and his face took on one of surprise. "Ah! I've got to go! Daddy's calling!"

With that, the boy disappeared…

 ** _James:_** **YEY! I finally got included!**

 ** _Joker:_** **Of course! You're like the adorable, wavy black haired, Asa Butterfield version of John! You're too cute NOT to include!**

 ** _Mai:_** **Waah! Why don't I get to meet him?!**

 ** _Joker:_** **Oh, you already did! Sorry it was a bit mean when you did...**

 ** _Naru:_** **Idiotic Procrastinator *bops Joker on head***

 ** _Joker:_** **WAAH! GENE!**

 ** _Gene:_** **Huh?**

 ** _Joker:_** ***glomphs in hug***

 ** _Gene:_** **Err... Naru... What did you do?**

 ** _James:_** **What does "procrastinator" mean?**

 ** _Gene:_** **Someone who puts stuff off for too long.**

 ** _James:_** **So how can that type of person be an idiot? Aren't they just to busy?**

 ** _Joker:_** ***wails harder***

 ** _Gene:_** **Ah... Naru, apologise...**

 ** _Naru:_** **No.**

 ** _Gene:_** ***starts getting soaked by Joker-Demon-Tears* *starts panicking* NOLL! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE A SECOND TIME?!**

 ** _Naru:_** **Oh... Alright... *leans down beside Joker to mutter in ear* Sorry.**

 ** _Joker:_** ***stops crying, and turns to look to Naru with innocent puppy eyes* mean it?**

 ** _Naru:_** **...It be pointless to say otherwise.**

 ** _Joker:_** **THANK YOU! *hugs, before dancing about with cuddlies, and rushes back to Tea Party in Hell after handing out further invites***

 ** _Naru:_** ***raises eyebrow and also got a list of teas and cakes* *Opens list* *roll hits floor and bounces before rolling about a metre away***

 ** _Gene:_** ***wolf-whistles at size of list* All in small-print with tiny gaps between the lines?**

 ** _Mai:_** ***sighs* Triple R, as Joker says.**

 ** _Gene:_** **What's Rainbow Tea?**


	11. Father Paul-The1st Piece

Yasu's POV:

Everyone was back in base but for Monk, John and Masako, who were with the children.

Li was also with us, Mai entertaining her, though sometimes Li and Lin talked to each other in Chinese. On the monitors, I saw Peter exiting his room, and he soon met up with Monk and the others (cue Peter jump-hugging John). They talked, Peter and Monk getting distracted as Masako and John seemed to exchange a glance, before slipping away from the pair, walking off by themselves.

"I'll go and- WAH!" I started to say, before falling on my butt as the boy from before popped up right in front of me in the doorway. "Hey! More warning next time!"

James looked at the monitors, and he nodded to himself.

"Sorry, but I got strict orders from _both_ parents to not let you guys out the room." James saluted, before crossing his arms. "Though Peter shouldn't be in the equation…"

"Erm, but John can easily walk into the clutches of one of the other ghosts… Don't brothers sort of look out for each other?" I asked.

"He is." James shrugged, before laughing at my look of annoyance and shock. "Don't worry! It's Daddy, not big meanie Father. He also said in exchange I can answer up to five questions of yours."

James held up a hand, fingers up to show the amount.

"So who's "Daddy"?" Naru asked.

"Father Paul Brown. He and Father Matthew are brothers. He met Mummy in the Garden, and he saved her." James smiled. "He died by the knife."

"What about Father Matthew?"

"The biggest Sinner on earth, you think the crime, I bet you there's a 70% chance that he's actually done that. He died in the very same crash that almost killed all the others."

"So why target John?"

"His lineage… Also, don't you even notice how continuously innocent John appears, despite everything that gets thrown at him? Two more."

"Where do you fit?"

"As his little brother, I have similar lineage, though I somehow managed to develop quicker into my full power, so I ended up having to put myself into a weird death-like stage just so Father couldn't control me since I was only about 10 and a half! How bad that went, right! One question left."

"That means your power is weaker than your brothers." Lin commented. "The younger you are that you gain your powers, means your body didn't have to develop so much, showing that your power is less."

"Waah! You already know lot, Mister!" James beamed, down to one question. "Then again, even I saw the Hanakumasue and seal on you! Still one question!"

"If John's so popular, why will no one share his room with him?!" I felt myself ask at high speed.

James' eyes saddened.

"It's because… No one wants to use the bed of a supposed Ran-away-believed-Dead person, especially when his Big Protective Brother feels upset about the entire ordeal… Right?…"

There was silence…

Masako's POV (meanwhile):

John and I stood outside the Church hall.

"Should we really be doing this?" I asked, as John pushed both doors open wide, and walked in.

Someone was waiting at the alter, and John's gaze appeared to fix on the man.

He was tall, with white Priest's clothes, and white, glistening wings.

John slowly walked up.

"Hello, John." they smiled.

"You… You're…"John said, and his brow furrowed.

The man reached into a pocket.

"It's time for your powers to awaken. Else your system will crash from straining under your power." they replied, and John took a tiny step forward on seeing whatever it was.

"The pendant…" John breathed, his voice, though small, echoed back to me.

The man undid the clasp.

"It's from your Mother." he smiled, and John's body seemed to glow, and he looked up.

"D-Dad?" John choked, before fainting.

"John!" I exclaimed, running forward, as the man caught John.

I only saw it upon coming close – the tattle-tale glow around the man.

"You… You're a Spirit?" I asked, standing over him as he carefully lowered himself to his knees, his wings settling like a feathered cape around and behind him.

"Yes. I am the Keeper of John's first set of memories, which have a seal within them upon his Power." the man replied. "My name is Father Paul Brown, John's biological Father."

I covered my mouth.

"His biological… Why use that?" I asked.

"Because there's his Guardian, as well…" he softly replied.

The necklace was slowly growing transparent, as it seemed to dissipate into John.

"His mark pieces take forms as objects associated with those memories, therefore, they lose their shape again and become the mark piece they were when we feed them certain emotions as it touches his skin." Paul smiled, when he saw my eyes widen, stopping my hand from touching it.

"Now he just needs to wake…"

A short while after, John slowly came round, before shooting up.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, his eyes shining, before focusing, and he started crying. "I saw… I was… You…"

"I know, but that's long past, you still have to remember James and the others." Paul smiled, and John curled up, snuggling into his father's arms.

"I missed… Even when I came here…" John softly admitted. "…Dad… Did I do right? I don't know why that ghoul's chasing me, yet I feel that I do know, and I couldn't stop myself, or show restraint when he sang that tune…"

I found myself smiling.

 _I'd never be able to admit my fears to my parents while out of – I'm forever their prim-and-proper daughter…_

"John, it's not your fault. "Honour thy Father and thy Mother", you followed that he implemented such… It's part of your heart now… Not once did you give false witness, and you have managed to make me proud to be your Father…" Paul replied, and the doors to the hall burst open as John's tears fell.

Monk quickly ran forward, and Monk quickly wrapped his arms around John as Ayako quickly rushed to check him over.

"Shh, shh, it's alright, John…" Paul smiled.

"S-s-sorry…" John cried.

Monk pouted, and Paul sighed.

"When you wish to cry, cry, for crying is able to cleanse you of your sorrows." Paul explained. "If you don't cry, you'll overload with regrets and pains, and these will cloud your joys."

Lin calmly walked up, his hands in his pockets.

Lin and Paul seemed to observe each other for a moment, before Lin spoke.

"There's an old Chinese proverb-tale, roughly translated as "Birds of Sorrow"." he commented. "Have you heard of it?"

"Which type were you?" Paul asked.

"Sometimes…" Lin replied, clapping once. "Mostly…" he let his last word hang.

Naru walked up.

"Father Paul Brown, I presume." Naru mused, and Paul nodded. "How long have you haunted here?"

"I am unable to pass on with Father Matthew here; else ruin shall come to the east side and hall of the church, like it has on the west." Paul sighed.

By now, John had fallen asleep as the glow around his skin dimmed.

"Also… How powerful is he?" Naru asked, as Paul shifted John carefully over to John, and stood up, ruffling his son's hair.

"Had he had the entirety of his mark, and hadn't been in that accident, it would have probably come out fully… Somewhere around last month." Paul replied. "That being said with about as much supernatural power around him as possible to speed up the process…"

I felt my eyes turn towards Lin's shiki, then to Mai, and finally to Naru.

"We are a Psychic Research Company, and he is an Exorcist…" I stated.

"Also he has been watching others do exorcisms since he turned seventeen… James has been around, too…" Naru agreed. "Then with Matthew's ghost around, and how powerful I am…"

"You're basically saying he's practically sat in a well of psychic power all his life." Ayako pointed out.

James stepped into view.

"Daddy! Peter's dealing with Matthew again! He's getting Holy Water everywhere!" James complained. "Oh, hi guys!"

"Where?"

"He decided to try entering the first floor east corridor while you've been in here with John and the Ghost-busting team!" James replied, and Paul nodded.

"Sorry, it appears my time's up." Paul smiled, and he shimmered as he spread his wings.

Then he was gone.

"Sorry!" James sweat-dropped, his embarrassed smile matching John's.

"Why would your powers be weaker than John's?" Naru asked.

"Erm… I think it's because when he was… Created, it was April, so when Mummy's abilities were at their most powerful… I happened in October, so I'm super-weak compared to Mummy and John…" James replied. "I asked Daddy about it after I'd gone into my death-like state…" he tilted his head as something struck him as odd. "Actually, my body's been buried in a heap-load of shadow… I wonder if I'll become like a vampire of something if I revive…"

"Your the child of an angel, and Vampires don't exist, that's highly unlikely." Naru replied.

"Well, _you_ look like one!" James pouted.

"I just like the colour." Naru replied. "We'll head back to base, while Monk and Ayako take John to rest in his room."

I locked eyes with James for a moment, to see pieces of worry within them, as well as a hidden darkness.

Why does something feel _wrong_?

 ** _Joker:_** **WAAAH! JOHN! DON'T CRY!**

 ** _Naru:_** **You upset him, what do you expect. Anyway, Lin has to explain to the idiots about the Hanakumasue.**

 ** _Mai:_** **Hey!**

 ** _Lin:_** **I already did back in Chapter 6. When I was explaining the** ** _Hantenshisue_** **. I also think those** ** _idiots_** **you speak of can easily see the links -** ** _tenshi_** **is replaced with** ** _akuma_** **, and they're both in Japanese.** **半悪魔標** **is the kanji.**

 ** _Mai:_** **... That's the longest time I have heard him talk in a~ges...**

 ** _Lin:_** **As Noll sometimes says; I was correcting the idiot.**

 ** _Mai:_** ***sniggers***

 ** _John:_** ***gives a small smile of sympathy to Naru***

 ** _Naru:_** ***glares at Lin***

 ** _Lin:_** ***Returns to typing***

 **Joker: TRI~PLE R!**


	12. NARU

Mai's POV:

 _I was standing in the aisle in a bus. Looking out the window, I could see it was going at a high speed._

 _Looking to the front of the bus, I could see the driver._

 _He was surrounded by a dark shadow, and he wasn't seeming to focus on the road enough._

 _I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see Gene, who pointed to the back of the bus._

 _Five boys sat at the back of the bus, though I couldn't clearly tell who was who, I could see that the one in the right corner was curled up, looking out the window and playing with his hat._

 _His friend beside him was avidly talking, making two of his other friends laugh, the third of which was on the right in the middle, talking to the girl in front of them._

 _"Who are they?" I asked._

 _Gene gave me a small smile, and tapped the side of his head._

 _"You already know." he replied._

 _As if to prove my point, the joker of the group tapped the shoulder of the hatted boy, who lifted his head and turned to face his friend._

 _"Wait… John?"_

 _I heard a horn, and heads turned in shock to see a truck, though they were blinded by the lights._

 _Before it crashed._

I shot up in bed, muffling a scream.

 _Maybe I should tell Naru…_

Throwing off the covers, I entered the corridor, and moved towards base.

I saw Naru up ahead, walking towards base.

"Naru!" I called, and he turned, before waiting for me. "I had a dream again."

"Tell me once we're in ba-" he started to say, just as there was a wave of shadow.

I felt Naru quickly pull me so he protected me, his hands around my waist and I could feel his chest through the back of my shirt!

I suddenly felt it strike up, and Naru was quickly yanked off me by his wrists and waist.

"Naru!" I exclaimed, turning around, before feeling something cold hitting me.

All was slow…

 _Cold…_

I could see Naru being quickly dragged away as the door to base opened…

 _Too Cold…_

Lin left base, as Naru disappeared…

 _Icy…_

Then all sped up again, and blackness clouded my vision…

 _Nothing…_

Monk's POV:

Mai finally came round in base, and when she finally explained what happened, I was furious.

"What!" I exclaimed, and Mai looked close to tears, guilt written all over.

"It's not your fault, and I don't think Naru, no matter how strong, could have won against that." Ayako soothed, hugging Mai close.

"So what now?" John asked.

"Wait to see what happens?" Yasu shrugged. "In the mean time, I want to see what's under your bed!"

"H-hey! Wait!" John exclaimed as Yasu swiftly pranced towards the door, running after him…

John's POV:

"Books, books, books." Yasu hummed, happily going underneath my bed, before wiggling out, having gotten a long box out of his way.

"Hey, John?" he asked.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Why is there salt around the edge of the room, and in a ring below the head of your bed?" he asked, and I dipped my own head over the side to see it.

"Oh… That was something Peter advised after about a week I got out of hospital. It's an old belief that to have a ring of salt below your bed is able to keep away ghosts, as does the salt around the edge of the room – I was allowed some purified salt for this lot." I replied.

"So basically _this_ is supposed to act like _those_." Yasu summed up, pointing between the salt and charms.

"It burns them." I shrugged.

He nodded, and opened the box beside him.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, and I gave a small smile at the violin.

"Hey, John, you must be able to play this!" he exclaimed, and I shrugged again, before he handed me the violin.

I found myself rosining the bow, before putting the shoulder-rest on the widest part of the violin.

Picking up, I played, and finding it off-key, I alternated between the pegs at either end of the strings until it was to my liking.

Then I looked hesitantly at Yasu.

"I don't really know if I can… I replied, when there came a knock on the door, and Yasu opened it to reveal Mai, Lin and Monk.

"You can play?" Monk asked.

"Well…" I replied, blushing and resting the violin's base on my knee. "I don't really remember how far I actually got in my lessons…"

"What age did you start?" Mai asked.

"About 3 or 4 years…" I said.

"Well, an exam a year, so you could easily have been grade eight by your 12th birthday…" Mai mused.

"Pray tell how you know that?" Monk pouted.

"I left my flute back in Japan." Mai stated, sending Monk a look. "I'm also a bit rusty, since I haven't played since my Mum passed, OK?"

"That basically translates as; you're the musical person on our team." Lin sighed.

"Says the person who's charge has flattened fingertips, and their own fingertips have marks from playing another stringed instrument." Yasu smirked.

"Left in England." Lin dead-panned. "It's also just a hobby – I haven't played since Gene left."

"Oh, come on! Playing an instrument is one of the coolest universally legal highs _ever_!" Monk complained.

I sighed, and positioned the violin on my shoulder, my chin in the chin-rest, before playing.

 **~Joker-san was thinking probably Transcendence by Lindsey Stirling for this? Because Lindsey-senpaichan is AWESOME! Else Joker-san's gonna try and make you all happy by hunting through all of JunCurryAhn's covers to find a more appeasing song**

 **BTW, I know all that lot about grades and violins because I'm a violinist m'self! (Though I'm DEFINITELY not as good as Lindsey-senpaichan or Jun-senpaikun, 'cause they're grade 6 or 7, while I'm just grade 4…. a Very Low Grade 4… *sits in corner to sulk over measly Grade and contemplate how two-to-six year olds on YouTube can easily top me*~**

When I finished, I looked up, and immediately felt my face and ears burn with deep embarrassment.

"Sorry, I sort of forgot you guys were there part way- AH!" I started to say, before being swallowed in a hug.

"THAT! WAS! AWESOME!" Monk crowed, before being yanked off by Lin (who looked slightly annoyed), as Mai and Yasu both sweat-dropped.

"Hey… Umm… Anyway, what do you play?"

"Guess." Lin stated, crossing his arms.

"By your stance, and choice of style… Guitar, Acoustic." Yasu mused.

"Reasoning?"

"You shift your weight to your left foot, and you have your right wrist more limp than your left. The dominant hand strums the guitar as the in dominant holds the chords. Your right hand's fingertips are also more worn on their sides from the strumming of the strings, while the left is worn in the centre. Also, I can easily envision from that outfit at the airport you holding a guitar and playing with someone – I've learnt that sort of intuition from College, sorry."

"You're right." is all Lin said, before walking away, Monk now prancing around him with about a thousand questions reeling out per minute.

"Maybe we should go and save him…" I mused.

"Knowing Lin, I think it's more Monk we'll have to save." Mai shrugged.

"Wanna watch?" Yasu asked, getting up.

"Who wouldn't?!" Mai replied, and the pair started to tail the other two.

"Guys! Wait up!" I gasped, quickly putting my violin by my pillow and following Yasu and Mai out, the precautions against unwanted entry forgotten…

Luke entered as we were all in the base, and Monk was now holding a bag of ice to a Lin's-hand-sized bruise.

"We- Hey! What happened?!" Luke exclaimed, seeing Monk's state.

"I forgot there was someone who could manage to hit me harder than Ayako with her handbag…" Monk smiled. "Don't worry."

"Sure, I just suggest you smarten up – certain friends overheard you discussing music, and we sort of arranged a small open-mic gig in the canteen."

"BRILLIANT!" Monk grinned.

"I'll just stay need the back…" I started.

"Certain people also reminded other people that certain Shota-Priests play Violin and know several other musicians." Luke added, and I paled. "Wah! I mean, like, we'd like to hear you play, and it was our blabber-mouth-fan-girl who said it, so please don't feel sad! Don't forget how much Jade likes criticising music, so for her to be calling yours worth while is a huge compliment!"

"Knock, kno~ck! Mary-Ann found the spare instruments, along with a full-sized guitar and flute!" Simon grinned. "Hey, this is like one of those rare moments that the John Fan Club and John Protective Friends groups get along! Hurry up! We got everything done in half the time 'cause of that!"

"We also sorta got them to promise not to do any recording – your tears are a perfect excuse, John!… Wah! John! Don't hate me, buddy!" Mike added, also leaning in, before running and pulling me into a hug.

I smiled.

"They did do quite a bit, so why not?" I suggested.

"Sure, I will, but…" Mai sweat-dropped.

"I think John'd love to hear Lin's playing very much." Yasu, Luke and Simon emphasized.

"I would, but I don't want to inconvenience-" I started to gently say.

"Fine." Lin stated, taking off the headphones. "I'll put the cameras on record… Done."

he pushed a few more buttons, and got up, taking off the headphones.

"Also, Luke… I thought you didn't do message work?" I asked.

"I don't." Luke agreed, before grabbing my hand with a large grin. "Albert and I just agreed about the fact that, due to being the guests of honour, we can dress you up!"

"What? Luke?" I exclaimed.

"Li~n! Wear the suit you had when you arrived! Lucy and Mary-Ann are sorting out Mai!" Simon grinned, running off himself.

"WHAT!" Mai exclaimed.

"I'll help, too!" Yasu grinned.

 _Ah… What have I gotten myself into?…_

Yasu's POV:

I followed Luke to our room, where Albert was waiting.

"Got the bag you told me to get! Hi John!" Albert grinned. "Oh! Hi, Yasuhara!"

"Hey. I'm just ensuring you two don't tear John apart, and seeing the rest of what's under his bed!" I grinned.

"Just don't get in our way, darling." Albert joked, putting on a fake accent.

"Probably." I grinned.

"Anyway, John, let us just say we don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but we promise to make ou look fabulous." Luke grinned, opening his bag as Alfred carefully went through John's draws.

"Clothes his size – third draw." I stated, pulling out several more lots of books, before spying a particular box in the back, which looked newer than the rest.

"Hmm…" I mused, pulling said box out, and opening it. "Well, what d'you know! Someone left you a present!"

"Huh?" John asked, as I pulled out an inverted version of Lin's clothes – though with just block colours – and I laughed.

"They're like Lin's! But inverted!" I grinned, and the rest was pulled out quickly by Albert.

"John's not particularly the sass-type like Lin…" he mused.

"Ah, but that's when it's undone in places – just do it all up, and voilà! We have a cute John! We just need your hair to be a bit more fluffy…"

"You're starting to sound like a pair of the popular girls who got their quiet friend to submit to being made up!" I remarked.

"Says the person going through his friend's things." Luke and Albert replied, putting one hand on their hip and pointing the other at the stuff I had pulled out.

"Point taken!" I grinned…

 ** _Naru:_** **...**

 ** _Mai:_** **Joke~r! Why?!**

 ** _Joker:_** **I'M SORRY! I just thought, after Naru's kidnapping, and all that other depressive stuff, you guys need some cheering up!**

 ** _John:_** **Joker, I'm not that good...**

 ** _Joker:_** **JO~HN! YOU ARE PURE CUTNESS, AND PLAYING A STRINGED INSTRUMENT IS LIKE A SUPER-TALENT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU CAN DO IT WELL! (Then again, same thing goes with brass instruments and flute) Also, you probably are more impressive than Naru, as even though everyone says Piano's the hardest instrument to play, it's not (in actual fact it's the organ, as the organ is played with both the hands and feet, as well as using both knobs and pedals and keys - which is blimmin' freaky)...**

 ** _Mai & Naru:_** ***watch Joker giving John the instruments lecture***

 ** _Mai:_** **Should we save him?**

 ** _Naru:_** **He brought it on himself.**

 ** _Lin:_** ***taps John on the shoulder and puts finger on lips for silence, before leading John away to safety***

 ** _Joker:_** ***continues lecture***

 ** _Mai & Naru:_** ***return to SPR where Mai's managed to get hold of some of Joker's rainbow tea***

 ** _Joker:_** ***finishes and sees is alone***

 ***shrugs***

 **TRIPLE R!**


	13. Open-mic

Monk's POV:

I leant against the wall, my bass as my side, wearing my usual rocker get-up.

Lin walked in, and Mike ran over to him with a guitar.

Lin took it, and leant on the wall beside me, tuning the guitar before playing a quick tune.

"It's like riding a horse or bike; once you've learnt, you never need look back." I grinned.

"Shame Naru's not here than; he can play piano." Lin mused.

"Hey, I took Music for one of my main lessons – it's a good idea to have learnt at least some piano for that, and I went a little over the top…" I replied.

"Uh-huh, what Grade did you reach?"

"Six for Piano, eight for Guitar, I did all the grade exams but third for one of them…"

"I just jumped to the Grade five and eight exams."

"Spring or Autumn?"

"Both, once I'd learnt grades 4 and seven, everything else was easy."

"I hear that… Wait, you literally jumped between grades?"

Lin nodded.

"I did them in the same year."

"Wow!"

"Not really – Gene caught me practising, and then I had to teach him as I taught myself…"

There was silence for a moment.

"I don't know what to do – I might do Heroes, by Måns Zelmerlöw…"

Silence for a moment more.

"There's Violin, Vocals, Bass, Guitar and two lots of backing Vocals in that." Lin stated.

"Hmm… Wait… I can sing as I play bass, You can do guitar, then Violin and synth can be done by John, and backing vocals and synth can be done by Mai on her flute!" I grinned.

"Maybe."

"Maybe do what?" Mai asked, being led in by two other girls, and Mike ran up with her flute.

"Heroes, by Måns Zelmerlöw." I replied.

"I heard that on Eurovision! That would be cool to play!" Mai grinned.

"Would you be OK with doing the synth and backing vocal parts?" I then asked.

"Sure!"

John entered with the others, and I noticed Lin shift slightly, suddenly a bit more interested in the guitar he held.

John's hair was the same, but he wore a black, long-sleeved shirt with a white tie similar to Lin's, a buttoned-up white jacket, and white trousers, his violin tucked safely under one arm in rest position.

He walked up.

"Hey." he smiled, and Lin looked up, before nodding as he played a light tune on his guitar.

"You look really cute!" Mai grinned.

"Well, Yasu found the suit, and Luke and Albert helped me with perfecting it, so… I think that was what they wanted, at least…" John smiled.

"John, have you heard Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw?" I asked, grinning.

"Yes…"

 _This was going to be brilliant!…_

The open-mic slowly drew to an end.

Mai solo; Crystalize, flute cover by Bevani, original by Lindsey Stirling

John solo; Beyond the Veil, Lindsey Stirling.

Lin solo; River Flows in You, guitar cover by Sungha Jung, original by Yurima

Monk (accompanied by Lin); Little Game, original by Benny, guitar version… (just search "Little Game (BENNY cover) The Pixels).

Then we four went up in a group, having practised as quietly as we could at points though out the other performances, having done a group-rehearsal while Yasu did a distraction with his and Peter's comedy, taking advantage of their Japanese abilities.

Then, it was our turn.

I started.

 _Don't tell the gods I left a mess_  
 _I can't undo what has been done_  
 _Let's run for cover._

 _Mai joined, as in accordance of the synth._

 _What if I'm the only hero left?_  
 _You better fire off your gun_  
 _Once and forever_

Lin suddenly joined, doing the backing, with John doing the first notes of the orchestral backing.

 _He said go dry your eyes_  
 _And live your life like there is no tomorrow, son_  
 _And tell the others_

 _To go sing it like a hummingbird_  
 _The greatest anthem ever heard_

 _We are the heroes of our time_  
 _But we're dancing with the demons in our minds_

 _We are the heroes of our time_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_  
 _But we're dancing with the demons in our minds_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_

 _We are the heroes of our time_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_  
 _But we're dancing with the demons in our minds_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_

 _The crickets sing a song for you_  
 _Don't say a word, don't make a sound_  
 _It's life's creation_

 _I make worms turn into butterflies_  
 _Wake up and turn this world around_  
 _In appreciation_

 _He said I never left your side_  
 _When you were lost I followed right behind_  
 _Was your foundation_

 _Now go sing it like a hummingbird_  
 _The greatest anthem ever heard_  
 _Now sing together_

 _We are the heroes of our time_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_  
 _But we're dancing with the demons in our minds_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_

 _We are the heroes_  
 _(We keep dancing with the demons)_  
 _(You could be a hero)_

 _Now go sing it like a hummingbird_  
 _The greatest anthem ever heard_  
 _Now sing together_

 _We are the heroes of our time_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_  
 _But we're dancing with the demons in our minds_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_

 _We are the heroes of our time_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_  
 _But we're dancing with the demons in our minds_  
 _Heroes, oh whoa…_

 _We are the heroes_

We finished, and I couldn't help but grin as we got off the stage.

"You never said you could sing!" I exclaimed.

Lin sent me a look.

"Your fussing is why." is all he said, gently resting the guitar by the door as he started back to base.

"I'm going to-" John started to say.

"Na~ah~ah! That box being placed there was probably for a reason. You are so wearing that until the day is over." Luke grinned, popping up behind John and surprising him. "Oops… Sorry, didn't mean to scare you…"

"It's OK…" John replied, smiling with embarrassment.

"Come on, it's late from all that partying, we need our sleep." I grinned, yawning.

 _I haven't played like that in ages – it was fun_ …

 _ **Joker:**_ ***sits in depressed corner, chowing down sweets like there's no tomorrow***

 _ **Mai:**_ **Joker?... What's wrong?  
**

 _ **Joker:**_ **ASK THE IDIOTS! *moves onto the sugar-cube-pack, looking like some weird female version of Xerxes Break from Pandora Hearts***

 _ **Mai:**_ **Who?**

 _ **Naru:**_ **This idiot's already planning the sequel, and complaining how much she's got so far is too much.**

 _ **Mai:**_ **Sequel?! But doesn't she already have to finish about 70 stories?**

 _ **Joker:**_ **84 STORIES! WAAH! NO REMINDERS! I'm just glad people are only reading a quarter of them from the half I published everywhere...**

 _ **Yasu:**_ **This is basically her once-a-month drop-down session 'cause otherwise she's really hyper and happy...**

 _ **Joker:**_ ***suddenly seems to pop out of no where, hat back on* Mai-cha~n! Let's play hunt-the-Lin-Lin! Monk scared Lin-Lin away, so now we have to find him before John does!**

 _ **Mai:**_ **But John-**

 _ **John:**_ ***opens SPR door* Hi guys!  
**

 _ **Joker:**_ ***grins* Lin-Lin's hiding! Let us three find him!**

 _ **John:**_ **Is this partially why Monk's running away from the building at high speed?**

 _ **Naru:**_ **He was being a childish idiot, anyway.**

 _ **Joker & Yasu: **_***giggles***

 ** _Joker:_ He thought he'd tried talking Lin-Lin into attending a gig.  
**

 _ **John:**_ **Oh... OK... So where's Lin now?**

 _ **Naru, Yasu, Mai & Joker: **_**Hiding.**

 _ **Naru:**_ **I'll leave you to find him, he's still in the building.  
**

 ***two minutes later***

 _ **John:**_ ***Opens smallest possible-to-fit-in kitchen cupboard***

 _ **Lin:**_ ***freezes***

 _ **Yasu & Joker:**_ ***peek round corner and take pictures of vv cute wide-eyed Lin-face and surprised John-face***

 _ **John:**_ **How can you fit?**

 _ **Lin:**_ ***points at removed items on top of fridge* I learnt it.**

 _ **John:**_ **You learnt how to hide into small spaces? Why?**

 _ **Lin:**_ **...Is Monk gone?**

 _ **John:**_ **He ran past me on my way here.**

 _ **Lin:**_ ***climbs out spider-style*...** **  
**

 _ **John:**_ ***blushes***

 _ **Lin:**_ ***gives small smile to John, before returning to office***

 _ **John:**_ **... *blushes more* Triple R, please... *runs and hides behind Yasu*  
**


	14. Petrification

Yasu's POV:

I woke up part way through the night.

Grabbing my glasses, I saw that the clock I had said it was about one in the morning.

I sighed, and flopped back down, before looking towards John's bed…

The cover was in a heap, and John was gone.

I jumped up, and felt his bed.

About six or seven minutes.

I look out the window, and saw something swoop to the garden entrance.

"Damn it!" I cursed, running out to base.

Opening the door, I found Lin and Monk in base.

"Yasu, what is it?" Monk asked.

"I woke up, and John wasn't there, then I saw something out near the gardens John likes." I stated.

Lin handed Monk the headphones, and quickly got up.

"What about-" Monk asked.

"I'll be fine." Lin stated.

"But-"

"I've had worse."

Lin walked past me, and I quickly moved to catch up.

"Be careful!" Monk called.

"We will!" I waved back, before running down and out the house, rolling over the fence, turning to help Len.

He ignored me, and jumped over it with one hand.

Running down to the gardens, I stopped to catch my breath, before opening the door and seeing the paths.

I looked between them, and saw where the ground had been disturbed on one path.

Jogging down, I saw the trail cut off, going into a hardly-walked path.

Running down, we saw a bandstand.

It was tall and ornamented, though it was also crumbling and had plants climbing all over it, the river running around and below it.

"Naru!" Lin exclaimed, and we both sped up.

I quickly rushed up the steps…

OK, getting a glowing blue sword about an inch from your nose isn't very nice, especially when that sword is being held by your boss, who now has both a completely blank face and blank eyes, also giving off black smoke which – despite my predicament – looked ki~nd of cool.

James was with him, sitting beside John.

"Hurry up." Naru ordered, monotone and direct, his voice was off, containing a hidden, more low pitch.

So this isn't Naru…

"But-" James gasped.

I felt the sword move further towards my face, and I took a step back.

"Noll, snap out of it." Lin ordered.

Naru looked at him, and a weird smile fell on his lips, though his eyes stayed blank.

"No can do – have you heard of petrification?" he asked. "The boy you call Naru or Noll, also known as Oliver Davis, is actually right now in my home. I just have to prepare myself for completing what I want… Next time, your Oliver won't be your Oliver anymore."

Lin froze, and a blue glow came from the brothers, as James gave John his object.

"You're Father Matthew, aren't you! You're going to possess then do something to Naru!" I exclaimed.

"Naru" gave me a twisted smirk as he lowered the blade. Lin and I moved to stop him, but he speedily grabbed James, and ran, managing to stay ahead of Lin as I stopped to check John over.

Two resound taps.

Lin returned.

"They got away."

Cue John waking up.

OK…

Lin's POV:

I frowned, before shaking off my unease and lifting John up, ignoring the protests my back gave.

"Huh? Lin?" John asked, looking up.

"You just got the second part of your power." Yasu explained, and John nodded.

"I can remember more." he agreed. "My little brother, and my childhood with Mark, Luke, Simon and Peter, also two of the other groups I had to deal with – the bullies and… You know the other one…" he drifted off as he blushed bright red.

"Oh, come on! You're seriously lucky! Back in the day, I was forever the one chasing, never the chased!" Yasu grinned, "Right, Lin?"

I let my mind cast back slightly, before pulling away quickly.

"You're both lucky." I stated, making puzzled looks come on both their faces.

"What do you mean?" Yasu asked, and I sent him a look.

"Next subject; how much trouble we're in." I replied.

 **Slight bxb here, not much though… I'll still tell you where it cuts off with the bxb and give you a short description of what happened! ^w^**

"There's still quite a bit missing, but I feel that it's all where Father Matthew fits, as he's not anywhere else in my memories… However…" John replied, before subconsciously snuggling further into me and curling up more into a ball "It all feels really, really bad."

There was silence for a while, before Yasu spoke.

"Ne, John?" he asked, looking at John.

I looked down, to find he was asleep.

I found myself giving a small smile at his peaceful face, and silent breathing.

"Well, that's interesting…" Yasu grinned, before noticing my face. "Wah~! Is my dear Kojou entranced by my darling John?! Oh happy night!"

I shot him a glare as we reached the fence, and I jumped over again, being careful to not drop or hurt John.

Yasu grinned, and we returned inside.

"He should stay in base for now." I stated once we were there, and I had Monk fetch John's blanket and some spares to act as John's bed.

"One mo!" Yasu grinned, and he returned a while later with a pair of worn-down bears.

"These are John's! They're part of his past." Yasu grinned, and I nodded, as I gently put John down.

The hand clinging to my shirt stopped me from standing, and I looked to see John was still asleep, but an ever so slight frown was present on his face.

Monk gave a small laugh.

"I wish I had my camera." Yasu grinned, and I sighed, lifting John up again and setting him on my lap, finding the frown go as he snuggled back into my chest.

"Get my laptop." I ordered, glaring at the giggling pair as I felt a deep-set layer of embarrassment.

 _I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight…_

 **End of slight bxb bit! After admitting his last memories feel "bad", John falls asleep in Lin's arms, causing Lin to carry him carefully back and have him sleep in base… Only to find John won't let go of his shirt while asleep, so Lin ends up having John sleep on his lap and the blankets with the idea he wn't be able to sleep… Also we have Yasu and Monk giggling like a pair of idiots.**

 **MEANWHILE**

Mai's POV:

 _I found myself in a room filled with statues, and I wandered through, before hearing something._

 _I run forward, and I stopped by a large, jet statue._

 _A man was leaning against it, hands in pockets and long limbs proving his height to match the statues._

 _He turned his head towards me, and I backed up._

 _They looked exactly like the statue._

 _"O~h? Who might you be? You're certainly human, and alive." they asked._

 _"Um… Have you seen a boy with black hair and indigo eyes, dressed all in black?" I asked, and they smiled._

 _"Girlfriend?" he asked, and I blushed._

 _"NO! I mean, I do like him, but…" I stuttered, before a familiar voice filtered through._

 _"Mai! Over here!"_

 _I ran, and found him chained up._

 _"Naru!" I gasped, before trying to free him._

 _I heard him say stuff, before he pulled me onto his lap._

 _"Mai, I need to warn you." he stated, letting go._

 _"Warn me about what?! Naru!" I asked, scared._

 _"Matthew's been controlling me at the moment, but I over heard him muttering about petrification… You need to stay away from the ground West corridor, especially the far end at the rear of the building." he growled._

 _"But what about you?!" I replied, scared._

 _"Mai, I'll stay with him." I heard, and we looked up._

 _"Gene." Naru said in surprise._

 _"Keep hold of Naru's book, then I can stay visible to him, and we can communicate." Gene continued, before kneeling by Naru. "Sorry I took so long, Noll – or Naru, as I now hear?"_

 _"A gathering of friends, I see." the man from before mused._

 _"Oh, haven't seen you in a while, Astaroth!" Gene smiled._

 _"Same here. Speaking of friends, how's Lin and the archangel kid?" the man replied, squatting beside the pair of us._

 _"John's getting his memories back, and Lin's acting as always, though he's ignoring the wound in his back." I replied, causing Astaroth to laugh._

 _"Even after he's had enough close shaves to beat a cat! Ah, that's Lin, though." Astaroth grinned, before it dropped as he looked at Naru. "You twins'll need to stick together – else the petrification'll do its worst to this idiot scientist."…_

 _We talked for a while, but suddenly Naru curled into a ball._

 _"It's started." Astaroth growled. "Hide, the pair of you!"_

 _Gene and Astaroth suddenly disappeared, as Naru raised his head._

 _"R-run." he gagged._

 _"Naru!" I called "Naru!"_

 _he closed his eyes for a moment, and relaxed…_

 _Before shooting forward, and I felt him kiss me._

 _Instinct kicked in, and I recoiled._

 _"So this is the little Princess Oliver likes… You taste nice… Shame I've got to petrify your boyfriend's heart!" Matthew grinned._

 _"He's not my boyfriend!" I exclaimed, blushing bright red. "And that was my first kiss, stupid!"_

 _I covered my mouth in surprise, as the chain clicked open, and I felt Naru's hands on my shoulders._

 _"Hah, could have fooled me, my dear." Naru/Matthew smiled, "Still, lets steal for him that second kiss, too…"_

 _He leaned forward as I tried to escape from the hands holding my shoulders firmly…_

 _I suddenly felt a jolt…_

To wake up in the room we girls shared, clutching Naru's book and Masako and Ayako watching me with worried faces.

I immediately protected the book, as hot tears ran down my face…

 _ **Joker:**_ **Waaah, could cut this in two...**

 ** _Gene:_** **FINALLY! Jo~ke~r, you should have included me earlier!**

 ** _Joker:_** **I was trying to progress things, AND LIN! STOP JUMPING ABOUT BETWEEN ROOFTOPS! I KNOW IT LOOKS COOL, BUT, REALLY, IT GETS ANNOYING WITH THE FACT I MAKE TONES OF NOISE, AND YOU'RE AS LITHE AS A CAT!**

 ** _Lin:_** **...You didn't mind in * * * * * * * * *, and how else can I patrol?**

 ** _Joker:_** ***burries face in John's chest as tears up* Waah! Jo~hn! Your boyfriend won't listen to me!**

 ** _John:_** ***sweat-drops* Joker, he's just wanting to protect us from any bullies or Father Matthew's tentacles... Also we're not a pair just yet... *blushes at admittance***

 _ **Joker:**_ **Sti~ll! I** ** _like_** **my adorable John and steely Lin being a pair! You're like strawberries and cream! or Cookie Dough and Chocolate! I mean, there's also that cute picture where you two fell asleep with you snuggled up in Lin's arms! (shout out to Drinking at the Office by Skyrimluva5 !) I'm just... Wanting to push you along a bit...**

 ** _Lin:_** ***jumps down and glares at Joker***

 ** _Joker:_** ***starts running* TRIPLE R FOR JOHN HUGS!**


	15. Father Matthew II-Final Piece

Masako's POV:

"HE _WHAT_!" Ayako roared.

"It wasn't his fault…" Mai replied weakly, clutching the book.

"Not _his_ fault! He _KISSED_ you!" Ayako replied, looking ready to kill, as did Monk.

"Ayako, it's not like you're Mai's mother…" I whispered.

" _Still!_!" Ayako replied, upset.

"He was being controlled… Even I can understand how it feels to be controlled like that…" John said, giving a small, sympathetic smile.

"Mai, what was the man's name?" Lin asked, and she frowned.

"Gene acted like he had met him before… Astaroth?" she replied, and both John and Lin's eyes shot to her, before Lin straightened from where he leant on the door frame to move forward.

"How did he look?" Lin asked.

"That's easier, seeing as he was leaning against one of the statues, which looked exactly like him… Jet black hair, one yellow eye, one blue, tall, with long limbs, and he wore a black and grey suit." Mai replied, and Lin cursed.

"Astaroth is a Demon, and a Prince of Hell." Lin explained, "That was him you met, though he was in his human form."

" _Human_ form?" Mai asked.

"Archdemons take the forms of dragons, as dictated by the Revelation from the Gospel." John agreed, before looking, puzzled, at Lin. "But there's nothing in there about the description of their human forms…"

"We've bumped into each other quite a few times." Lin stated, before folding his arms and lowering his head in thought. "However, if you met him while in astral form, and by a statue…" he shook his head. "However, that though seems impossible, even for Father Matthew to accomplish."

"What?!" Monk exclaimed. "Don't leave us in the dark, Lin!"

"I think I'd like to know what's on your mind, too." Ayako agreed, and Yasu and I nodded.

Lin looked begrudgingly at John, who also nodded, before sighing.

"One of the abilities both races share is the ability to turn their forms to stone, but only certain amounts of the opposite energy type can encourage them to do that." Lin admitted. "It's like a defence system to ensure they come out unscathed. But an equal, or greater, amount of their energy type can free them. Also, to ensure that form holds all their energy, they have to stay as nearby as possible."

"But he said-…" Mai breathed, before freezing in place. "All those statues… They're not…"

I quickly wrapped my arms around her.

"How many?" I asked. "How many were there, Mai?"

"It was like a forest, but of statues… I even saw one of them holding an orb, and another held a sword…" she breathed, looking ready to cry. "All those poor people…" he suddenly remembered something.

"He's going to petrify his heart… So he doesn't have to possess him all the time…" she started to look terrified, and her hands tightened until her knuckles were white on the book. "Matthew's going to try and petrify Naru's heart, and Gene's down there, too…"

Tears were running down her face, and Lin and John's faces both looked grimmer.

"Petrify as in… Turn to stone?!" Monk exclaimed, and John skittered slightly closer to Lin.

"If there's enough energy left behind…" Lin agreed, "That would make drawing in others and turning more powerful ones to stone easier…"

There came a knock, and we turned to see Peter.

"Breakfast in the cafeteria!" he grinned. "Any games of hunt-the-Naru-and-stop-petrification-of-his-heart should be saved for later, right?"

With this, Peter quickly grabbed Yasu and John, running off down the hall…

Lin's POV:

Walking back from the cafeteria, I was keeping a close eye on John, when my shiki started acting up.

I looked forward, before quickly having to dodge the blade from the bandstand as shadow shot around, sealing us from the rest of the corridor.

"Naru!" Mai exclaimed, and he straightened.

"Sorry, here on business – certain half-angels need to get their full memories back to get their wings." he smiled, and I gritted my teeth. "Just keeping you guys distracted and this half-demon unable to get in their way as Matthew-sama does as he needs."

I gritted my teeth as I attempted to use the wall to get me over Naru when I saw the familiar shape behind him, and yet another nursery rhyme was hummed.

John walked forward, ignoring the blade.

Matthew pulled out a knife bound completely in strips of black cloth, names in silver on the handle and blade cover.

Father Matthew withdrew the cover, as John stood in front of him, the strip of cloth glowing blue, before turning into light which dove into the hantenshisue on John's back.

John gave a gasp of pain, gripping his sides as he fell on his knees.

"Please… No…" John choked out, before a different tune was hummed, and John tensed.

White wings burst from his back, a streak of gold running over the top, though the gold was longer and thicker in his wings than his brother's.

"John!" I angrily yelled, trying to fend off Naru and reach John.

 _Damn, why this?_

John slumped, and Father Matthew picked him up gently, being careful of the wings.

"Need this back yet?" Naru asked, inclining to the sword

"You best not break it – that is John's, too. What do you expect when he's such an adorable little lamb!" Matthew replied, before looking at John and putting the knife away as he laid a hand over John's heart, and extracted a small ribbon of white light.

"Pretty… Energy, I guess?" Naru mused with a dark smirk.

"Yes, just like your twin, except John's a pure little bird, and your brother's a cheeky monkey." Matthew smiled, gently lying John back down.

"In the name of our Lord, Amen." Matthew smiled, before Naru quickly jumped to Matthew's side, and the shot away.

I quickly jumped to John's side, checking his pulse, before flopping back with a sigh of relief.

"Oi, we've got to get him back to base." Ayako snapped.

I picked John up, and carefully carried him back to the bedding I had made him in base.

 _I hope he's alright…_

 ** _Lin:_** **... You made him cry, again.**

 _ **Joker:**_ **I... Um...**

 _ **Lin:**_ **Didn't you say you didn't want to make people cry?**

 _ **Joker:**_ ***deflates* B-b-but the pretty wings... I wanted Lin-san to see them... *freezes as notices Lin's glare, and slowly starts to back away***

 _ **Lin:**_ ***glare intensifies as shiki get restless***

 _ **Joker:**_ **WAH! *runs at top speed away***

 _ **Shiki:**_ ***chase Joker***

 _ **John:**_ ***watches from distance with question mark over head before accepting cup of tea from Mai* Triple R, if you please... But I think I'll politely ask Yasu to hand out the hugs this time... Lin was sulking in his office for about an hour when I gave out mine... Sorry... *gives small, innocent smile***

 _ **Yasu:**_ ***sees Lin's gaze turn towards him* *sighs, and grins in your direction* Fine... Triple R for my hugs, watashi wa neko-chan! *receives glare from Naru and Lin* Oh, that translates as, "my dear kittens", sorry...**


	16. Memories

Lin's POV:

Ayako quickly checked him over, before looking at me.

"Can you check his mark, please?" Ayako asked, and I gently pulled up the back of his shirt.

"It's all there, but his premonition was right – the colours for his relationship to Matthew are mostly blues and purples. As for parentage… I don't recognise the mark, it's a moon coming out from behind a cloud, though."

When John finally awoke, Ayako quickly helped him sit up, and he closed his eyes as he raised a hand to his head.

"John, are you alright?" Ayako asked, and John shrugged.

"My head hurts…" he admitted, before giving Ayako a small smile "But that's probably from getting my memories suddenly thrown back in my head, I should be fine in a bit."

He took a breath, before lowering his hand.

"What do we do now, anyway?" Mai asked. "Matthew appears intent on getting his hands on John, and the only one of us capable enough to stop him is Lin. Matthew also has those "invisible shadows" that he can control."

"John, what's the reason for that, anyway?" Yasu asked, correcting his glasses.

"Well…" John replied, "My dad and Matthew are brothers, Dad found and rescued Mum, so then James and I came along, but… It turns out, after getting his Priesthood and the respect of his peers, Matthew had started trying to gain spiritual power as much as possible… so since Mum had James and I, he… Mai, that dream you had… I think that was one of the memories Matthew took from me…"

"So you saw someone kill…" Mai exclaimed, and John nodded, as he started toying one of his bears.

"My brother and I went to the orphanage after, who would trust a two-year-old about the murderer anyway?" John agreed. "Matthew used that to his advantage to slip those impulses into my head, and into James'… All the rest you already know – but for the fact that Matthew used those tunes on me, so after every "Uncle and Nephew" time I'd wake up on my bed with no memory of what happened and feeling as though he'd stuck me in a pit of invisible mud, or something."

Varying tones of shock, anger and disgust at such acts went through the others, though I kept my face blank, silently filing the facts away for future use.

"Did he also ever leave you with a plaster over some part of your body, or felt any pain somewhere?" I asked, keeping my voice as emotionless as possible, though a tiny bit of anger still leaked through.

John shrugged.

"I remember being asked about bruises, but never plasters… However… Once I was with Luke, when he had managed to encourage me into wearing a costume for a nativity play, and he asked me why there was a plaster at the base of my neck, just below where the collar of one of my shirts could cover it easily… Why do you ask?" he replied, and I bit back an aggravated groan.

"Because angel blood and demon blood, no matter the potency, contains part of that angel or demon's power. Should someone drink that, they can then gain a portion of the being in question's power. It's where the ideas of sacrifice and blood rituals came from." I replied, and John appeared confused.

"Even if the powers are dormant, or still developing?" he questioned, and I nodded.

Monk cursed under his breath.

"We should start looking for that heartless idiot's base. By Mai's dreams, and how Lin lost James and the idiot in the wooded area, we can figure out that he has multiple entrances, and his base will be rather large. John will stay in base with Mai, meanwhile Lin and Masako, you search the ground floor for an entrance, Yasu, Ayako and I will search the area where Lin lost the duo out in the woods. Mai, try not to fall asleep, even if it may give us another clue to solving this case." Monk planned, and I sent her a look, before leaving.

Best get this over with.


	17. Truth

John's POV:

Mai and I talked for a while, and I introduced my bears to her, in the end we were both playing with them so Mai wouldn't go to sleep, and to keep our minds off the others, even if for a little while.

A knock on the door interrupted us, and Peter entered, a cup of tea in either hand.

"I brought drinks!" he grinned. "Left for Mai, right for John! I figured from your reactions to certain types of tea which ones you like – John likes having milk, but no sugar, while Mai likes having sugar, but no milk!"

"Thanks! This definitely makes a difference from having to make it for everyon else all the time!" Mai smiled, and I nodded as I took mine.

"I heard from Luke that you've got all your memories back now, right?" Peter asked, as we drank our drinks, and I nodded in confirmation as I drank my drink.

"Thank you." I smiled, placing my empty cup on a tray by the door, as Mai set hers down beside herself, nodding in agreement.

"Wow! I haven't seen those two in a while!" Peter grinned, motioning to the bears. "I thought they would have gone under your bed by now!"

"I would never do that! They've been with me through so much!" I replied.

"Hmm… Actually, that makes sense – your family problems and all." Peter agreed, before Mai started to rub her eyes.

"Mai?" Peter asked, looking curious "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Mai replied, before letting out a yawn. "Just… Tired…"

"How about you take a nap. John and I will watch over you, and if there's any problems, I can fetch Lin or Masako!" Peter smiled, and Mai shook her head.

"Monk… Said…" she attempted, before swooning, and Peter and I quickly caught her, before laying her on the bedding Monk and Yasu had set up for Lin and I.

We were silent for a while, before Peter appeared to nod to himself.

"Hey, John…" he asked, and I turned to face him. "There's another reason I came to you guys… Mark noticed something weird in the ground floor corridor, so I agreed to come and ask about you coming to have a look… Oh! I don't mean we exactly have to go now, it's just, everyone else will be back from school by the time the others are back in base, and we don't know how long Mai will be asleep for…"

I gave him a small smile, which managed to make him shut up as he fell into trying to arrange his words well.

"You still have your holy water?" I asked, and he nodded. "In that case, I trust you enough to protect me, alright?"

He breathed a sigh of relief, and I took the hand he offered when he stood up.

 **BXB WARNING! ALSO WARNING OF PAIN!**

Following him downstairs, we entered the corridor to the west wing.

The sense of foreboding hit hard, and Peter took my hand again.

"Peter, maybe we should go back…" I asked, and Peter stopped.

We were right by the end of the corridor.

"Hey, John…" Peter asked. "What do you think of me? As a person…"

"I… Why now?" I asked, before seeing his face was overshadowed. "You're my best childhood friend… What's wrong?"

He turned, and I froze.

His eyes… Why are they so dark?!

I felt him push me against the wall as I registered how my sight was slowly starting to blur.

"What's wrong, John, is how ever since I saw you…" Peter whispered "I've really, really liked you. Those bullies, I was the reason they all ran away. The fan-club, I was the one who made it, so that I could keep a perfect eye, on all of those idiots… Those friends, I brought them together to protect and help you! None of their feelings can beat mine… Every time I see you, I have to stop myself from kissing you, every time you laugh, cry, grin, sigh, I have to stop myself from being as much a monster as Father Matthew…" he took a shaky breath as I felt my heart stop. "You are literally my everything. I wanted you to feel how I did, but I was too scared. I let myself be content with watching from the sidelines… But then came the accident, and Matthew… He told me how I shouldn't be ashamed of what I want. I shouldn't be ashamed of myself…" by now we were both crying, and I could feel whatever was in my system was making my legs give out.

"What now?" I just managed out.

"I made a deal… Had you not gained your memories, you would have died by your 22nd birthday… Those other names on that knife-handle… They're Mark, Luke, Simon and I… I sent the others to check on the orphans in hospital, so that when they regain their memories, and their wounds reopen, they can be saved easily…" Peter said.

"What about-" I attempted.

"I… Died. I got thrown down the aisle, and my neck, stomach, arm and leg… I didn't feel a thing, I just knew I was dead from how my body wouldn't move… When you made your agreement to have us all live… The wound on my neck was removed, however – unlike you four – my memories weren't… I was brought back to life… It would have been my fault, did you not awaken…" Peter admitted. "So that's why I arranged all of this. The encounters, the bringing you all the way back from Japan, even… Even drugging the drinks I gave you two and having… Having Lin distracted in the east corridor while I say all this…"

"Peter…" I said, fear and sympathy striking deep, just before his lips landed on mine, pulling me close.

It told me everything, pain, love, hope – and I felt my heart break…

As everything turned black, and I fell limp in Peter's arms…

 **BxB, End… Peter admitted he was the main reason for everything John's had since they became friends, and for drugging both Mai and John, then John faints…**


	18. Separate

**Pain, continue…**

Mai's POV:

I shot up, and began running as fast as possible towards the corridor the boys were, passing Lin and running as fast as my feet could take me.

I was too late.

I fell to my knees as I reached the spot where Peter and John had been, John's rosary and vial of holy water on the ground.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Masako, before throwing myself at her as my tears burst out.

"Peter… He's going to die… He told John everything he had done and… John had saved all his friends in the crash… But Peter had to be brought back to life… He drugged us so he could easily get me out of the way and stop John from being able to run…" I sobbed, and I was led back to base…

When the others got back, I felt another set of arms around me, and I couldn't help but cry with guilt as well as sorrow.

I could only just tell them what Peter had said and done, afterwards being taken back to the girl's room to sleep…

Naru's POV:

I watched as Peter sat up against the wall, feet under him and arms loose on either side as he relaxed – Matthew's orders.

John was still unconscious, and I had his head in my lap so it wouldn't be resting on the cold floor – Matthew's orders.

The blade was leaning on the wall beside me, having been cleaned carefully so all the last lot of Matthew's residue didn't stain the blade – Matthew's orders.

I watched lazily as Peter was petrified, before Matthew laid my folded-up jacket on Peter's lap.

Gently, I lifted John up, and laid him gently so his head was now on the jacket.

Then Matthew took out the knife, and unwrapped all four names on the handle, which turned the entire thing into four separate streams of multicoloured light, the darkest of which entered Peter.

He was the lucky one.

"Now, we merely need to wait… You left the clue?" Matthew mused.

"Yes, Father." I nodded. "You froze my heart with only the words "obey Father Matthew" inside. Therefore, I would even die for you."

"Good lad." he nodded, ruffling my hair, before I picked up my blade and sat close to where my brother was.

"Noll, you have to snap out of it! The sword will help you." Gene called. "Just let Mai and I-"

"Shut up." I ordered, smashing the sword's tip into the ground, perfectly between the pieces of stone holding his feet and lower-legs.

His eyes widened as his lips sealed in a shocked frown as I felt my eyes darken.

 _Mai…_

 _The only one able to slip into my heart…_

 _But what is this feeling?…_

No, duty first, feelings are irrelevant…

 **Pain End. Peter just got turned to stone, Mai revealed that he died during the crash and we discover Gene's had his feet sealed in stone, while Naru's had his heart petrified, though not as much as Matthew wanted…**

Lin's POV:

I puzzled over the clue Naru had told me.

Message from Matthew;

The stairway to home is by heaven,

Only the Chosen can see the entrance.

Why does he have to tell me this? If they wanted me to reach Matthew's "home" they could have just used force like with John and Naru…

John… Why can't I get him out of my head?

"Penny for your thoughts." a voice mused, and I looked up to see Yasu.

He handed me a cup of tea, and the question echoed as I took the cup.

"Mai's doing OK, Masako's definitely been able to calm her down, Monk's been practically patrolling, and you can easily guess Ayako's outlook – you have been moving about and ignoring your wound, as well as refusing pain medication, and Mai's predicament is worrying her as well…" Yasu reported. "Speaking of which, how much pain can you take? It's like that wound isn't there at all."

"About fifty to ninety percent over the normal human average – I've basically been through that much." I replied absent mindedly. "What do you think of this?" I slid over the clue Naru had given to Yasu, and he adopted his thinking pose.

"Well, seeing as it's given to you, it could be referring to your Electromagnetic vision for seeing the entrance. As for home and heaven, one of your parents is from hell, and heaven usually is seen as somewhere above, into the sky. The thing commonly joining these s a staircase… However, the main staircase is too obvious… I'll ask the eldest Sisters later, and maybe Mother. However, it's getting to around 7pm, so I think I'll wait for tomorrow…"

"Thanks." I grunted, before settling myself on my lot of bedding.

My abilities decided to choose this moment to try strengthening, and I quickly covered my hidden eye, forcing them back.

I just hope I can hold up…

 **Naru: *stands over avidly-publishing Joker***

 **Joker: I've almost got this one finished, and I'm meant to be going to Devon! No way can I leave (one, two, three, four, five, plus three...) eight Chapters of this story unplublished, and start plotting the トイタナイリ (シクワエル).**

 **Naru: Talk English.**

 **Joker:** **シクワエル!** **シクワエル!**

 **Naru: English, not Kana.**

 **Joker *ku*e***

 **Naru: *gives up***

 **Yasu: I know what she means!**

 **Naru: What?**

 **Yasu: Translate the Kana, then read it as you would read-**

 **Joker: *frying-pans Yasu* NO WAY!**

 **Yasu: Yīngyǔ *faints*  
**

 **Naru: LIN!**

 **Lin: *continues typing, ignoring ruckus* Triple R.**


	19. Finding Matthew's Hideout

Yasu's POV:

I sighed in relief as I finally found what I wanted.

"Thank you, Sister. Now maybe we can all finally get this over and done with…" I smiled.

"Oh! One last thing." Sister Jessabelle called, and I turned. "Maybe some honey mixed with apple shavings can help – we give it to the little ones when they are upset or unable t sleep – it's a wonder what home-remedies can do."

She wrote it out on a sheet of paper, before handing it to me.

I felt my smile turn into a grin.

"That's really helpful, thank you." I nodded, before hurrying back with my findings.

Ayako rushed off to make the drink, and I sat beside Lin, who was tapping away slightly louder than usual.

"Well, I've heard there used to be staircases at the end of the corridors, but after accidents where the little ones have tumbled down them a bit too hard, they've been blocked of, along with the end of the corridor and the door that used to lead to the basement." I grinned.

Lin nodded.

"We best wait until Mai's fit enough to have aid our search – she can navigate better than the rest of us." he stated, before returning to his work.

"Ayako's dealing with that as we speak, one of the Sisters gave me a recipe for a drink that's helped many of the other orphan children cheer up." I reported, and Lin nodded…

Lin's POV:

Mai was hesitant about drinking the drink Ayako gave her, but after Masako and Yasu had some, both agreeing that it tasted wonderful, Mai took a sip, before gulping it down.

She was quick to recover afterwards, and we finally were ready.

So as not to cause problems, when Monk and I opened up the doorway (knocking down a fresh layer of brick and shredding a layer of wallpaper) we helped the sisters section the area off.

The cellar was dark, and Monk fetched the torches.

"So, where do we look now?" Monk asked, disappointment evident.

Yasu clicked his fingers.

"Usually there would be an escape tunnel for priests within close vicinity of the church, meaning an easy escape should soldiers come storming after their blood. Maybe there's an entrance somewhere!" Yasu grinned, and I gave a groan of annoyance before removing my fringe from my eye.

"So I have to use my eye to find the entrance." I sighed, before moving through the room, allowing my senses to probe the walls around me, before I figured out where, and pushed the crates on top of it out of the way.

Annoying.

Yasu grinned, and studied the entrance, before hunting down a metal poker and giving the lock a quick stab, making it shatter.

He opened it, and I quickly backed up, as did Masako.

"What's wrong?" Monk asked.

"That place is practically bursting different types of energy." Masako replied. I gave a nod of agreement, suppressing the need to raise a hand to my eye.

I started down, the others following, finding enough room in the room below to spread out.

The trapdoor closed upon our entrance as stuff moved back into place…

" _John!_ "


	20. Secrets

Masako's POV:

Mai rushed forward, and we were hot on her tail, soon finding John.

His wings were wrapped around himself, the only apparent thing keeping him decent.

His head was resting on the lap of a statue, and I covered my mouth upon seeing it.

"Peter…" I breathed.

Ayako gently moved John, and we saw a plaster resting at the base of his neck.

"Matthew's been drinking him as though John was a drink, not a living being." a voice said.

"Astaroth!" Mai exclaimed, running up to the ghost of a tall man. "Where's Naru and Gene?"

"Right here." a more familiar voice replied.

Naru stood there, holding the collar of Gene's ghost, before throwing Gene to sit beside John.

"Mai, you're going to need to be careful." Gene grunted, getting as comfortable as he could.

"Matthew!" Naru yelled, fending off Monk with his sword.

Black shadows quickly sped to Naru's side.

"You're late!" Matthew smiled. "Not that I'm complaining – John and I got to spend some more Uncle-and-Nephew time!"

"YOU!" Monk snapped, reaching for his own items.

"Ah, bad boy." Matthew grinned, and Monk was thrown 2 feet (3.2 meters) away, hitting a wall, hard.

Ayako gave a cry, and ran to his side.

"Just hard enough for a concussion." Matthew smirked, and Yasu quickly moved protectively in front of John, Mai and I, though Lin looked at his feet.

"You're using your invisible shadows again." he commented, looking back at Matthew, and moving away from us.

"Of course! You stink of power!" Matthew replied.

"Excuse me, but don't use such an expression, didn't I tell you?" Astaroth asked, waving a hand.

"Shut up." Matthew replied, and Astaroth sighed.

"You know he won't go down without a fight?" Astaroth asked.

Lin proved this point by dodging the following stream of shadow.

"Oliver." Matthew ordered, and Naru quickly gave chase, Lin now dodging both sword and shadow.

"Hey! Get your powers out! You can't hope to rescue us lot if you don't!" Astaroth called.

"Shut up!" Lin replied.

"A "Nice to see you" would be nice!" Astaroth continued.

"Why? It's only been four years, not as large as I want." Lin stated.

"Meany!"

"Idiot!"

Matthew smiled, and a tentacle aimed towards me.

Lin was there in a second, and shadow swallowed him as it threw him past me and levitated in front of Matthew.

Astaroth sighed, rolling so his feet was leaning on his statue and his hand were behind his head.

Matthew laughed, and crossed his arms as Naru started counting.

"Twenty." Naru said, and Matthew's smirk dropped.

"Thirty."

Matthew turned in Astaroth's direction, and Astaroth shrugged.

"Bad move, Matthew." he smiled. "Sadly, in this world, there aren't simply enough retries."

The shadow burst, and Lin landed neatly in front of Matthew and Naru.

He looked similar, but now large, gleaming, black wings curved gently out of his back, contrasting with his skin.

His eye had changed from its pale blue to a dark red.

Silently, Lin shot out at Matthew, and Naru quickly moved to block.

Lin shot back, and studied Naru for a moment, before returning into fighting him.

The pair became a blur, and I noticed as Lin's tentacles (darker than Matthew's) destroyed the stone encasing Gene's feet.

"Hey! Naru!" Gene yelled, and he hugged Mai from behind, leaning his head on Mai's shoulder. "Can I have Mai?"…


	21. Lucida

Masako's POV:

The question caused an almost instant reaction.

Naru spun to stare at his twin, sending probably his darkest of glares.

Lin grabbed and disarmed Naru in that moment.

Gene grinned.

"Well, you're busy being Mr Grumpy-Guy, so as your Mr Giggle counterpart, wouldn't I be the more charming?"

Naru started struggling, and Matthew looked surprised.

Lin let go, throwing the sword neatly to John's side as Gene picked Mai up. She gave a surprised squeak as she automatically put her arms around Gene's neck.

Lin quickly kicked his young charge so Naru skidded into the wall, and Gene put Mai on Naru's lap, stopping Naru from getting up – and making Naru give a bewildered look at his twin.

Matthew began to back away as Lin moved towards him.

"Move on, idiot." Lin muttered, before charging, his tentacles destroying the shadows Matthew had under his control, and Lin whistled, his shiki zooming into Matthew.

"Shiki? So you have been using your abilities." Astaroth grinned.

"Only part." Lin replied.

"But why not use it when on cases with your friends?"

"…"

"Ryuuto sends his greetings and brotherly love, by the way."

"What is he up to now?"

"Protecting Kaede and the triplets, as well as all the others like them."

"Good."

"Seriously? No "Missed you" or "How's Undeath?""

"You're a childish idiot."

"I am a Prince."

"You're still a definite adult."

"I'll thank you for that compliment."

"Wasn't meant as one."

Lin kicked Matthew's face, before sending a load of his power at Astaroth's statue, making Astaroth disappear, before the shadow cleared, and the Archdemon walked up, ruffling Lin's hair as the ground opened beneath Matthew's feet, and chains wrapped around him.

Lin grunted, and swiped away the hand.

"But you're too cute, Kojou! Also too cool! Your upper-cut was expert! Also your flames looked really cool!" Astaroth pouted.

"I only used them, because of that saying you taught me." Lin replied, crossing his arms, annoyed.

Matthew was quickly dragged down, his powers being sucked from every inch of the room, including a tiny ball of it, which shot out of John.

The hole closed, as Matthew was sealed in hell.

"What happens to him?" I asked, and Astaroth sent me a smile.

"He's been sentenced to the very deepest of our pits… I think its the one being owned by our maddest… Anyway, Ma~i?" Astaroth grinned, hovering over to the red-faced girl.

"Help!" she asked, struggling as Yasu and Gene were stopping her and Naru from getting up.

"No, can, do! But, should you and Naru share a stone-melting kiss~" Astaroth smirked, making Mai blush bright red.

"It's the only way." a female voice replied, and we looked to see a beautiful Aryan woman clad in white floating over.

"Ah! Lucida! I see you are well!" Astaroth grinned.

"We do get to see our sons again, Astaroth." Lucida replied with a smile, landing gently by John, and moving him gently onto her lap, smiling as he snuggled up to her. "At least I could stop Uriel and Gabriel from trying to turn your spirit to dust."

She gently stroked John's hair, and whispered something to him.

His eyes slowly opened, and his eyes widened upon seeing Lucida, and he sat up quickly.

"Nice to see you again, John." Lucida smiled, and he blushed, causing her to laugh and ruffle his hair, before waving her hand and making clothes form over him, a white shirt and light blue trousers (/pants), the collar of the shirt having two gold studs on either collar.

"Thank you…" John shyly nodded, before looking sadly at Peter's statue.

Then he saw Lin, and his evident surprise made a large grin form on Astaroth's lips.

John looked at the rest.

"What- But-…" he breathed, and Astaroth crouched in front of John, ruffling John's hair himself.

"You're son's certainly a cute one! Blessings now or not?" Astaroth mused, making John blush.

"Go find someone else to patronize." Lin grunted, kicking Astaroth away.

John was surprised for a moment.

"Ei~?!" he exclaimed. "You mean "son" and "blessings" like-…" his face turned redder than a tomato.

"Astaroth's just being silly about the "blessings" part." Lucida laughed. "however, yes, Kojou's Father is Astaroth, and you are one of my cute little boys!"

John looked slightly shocked, as Lin sighed, and sat beside them.

"…Is that why you're touch about your…" John hazardously asked, and Lin nodded.

"It has… Bad memories…" Lin nodded, covering the eye again as his wings folded up behind him and his gaze fell on the ground.

Naru suddenly gagged as his hand flew to his heart.

"Naru?!" the trio exclaimed, as Lin quickly moved to his side.

"His heart is petrified." Astaroth shrugged.

Lucida nodded.

"Mai. She gently called, and Mai looked up. "What usually melts a heart in stories?"

"L-love…" Mai replied, and Lucida nodded.

"Where do you think that idea comes from?" Lucida then asked, and Mai blushed. Lucida gave her a gentle smile, and Mai tentatively leant towards Naru, before quickly pecking him on the lips.

Yasu caught on.

"You have to make It so your feelings reach his, not a simple peck." Yasu stated, and Mai looked slightly terrified.

I gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Of all people to kiss Naru, why do you think she would choose you?" I asked, keeping calm.

"I- I like Naru…" Mai muttered, and I nodded with a shrug.

"Close, but any girl can like him, so think of it the other way round…" I smirked, letting it show.

"… He… He likes… Me?" Mai replied, and I smiled at her blushing face.

"Bingo! Now, if you don't kiss him, we're going to lose him. Do we want that?" I then asked, and Mai shook her head. "In that case, give him a _proper_ kiss."

Mai nodded, biting her lip, before taking a breath, and kissing Naru again.

Gene smiled as he held his brother's hand.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that." he smirked. "Or that it'd be years before Mai and Naru finally kissed."

"People change, it's part of being human." I replied, covering my mouth as I looked at Yasu.

Lucida crouched by Gene, John sticking close to her, before she laid a hand on Gene's head.

"Now, we should reinforce Oliver's survival; Eugene, how does coming alive again sound?" Lucida asked, and Gene looked shocked fr a moment, before smirking.

"So I get my brother back, and a chance to become a perfect-pranking-trio with Yasu and Masako?! Definitely!" he replied, and Lucida nodded…


	22. Bonds

Naru's POV:

 _I was floating in darkness, nothing was around._

 _Light shined suddenly in front of me, and I covered my eyes in surprise._

 _Warmth, it seemed to cascade from the light, and I felt a smile form on my lips for the first time in years._

 _I saw two silhouettes in the light, both holding out a hand for me to take._

 _"Come back, Naru." I heard._

 _"It's not yet your time, little bro."_

 _My eyes widened, and I reached out, taking the offered hands._

 _The light grew, and dimmed again into black, as I felt the hands let go..._

Weight, on my legs.

An all-too-familiar hand holding mine.

"Do you think it worked?" a voice asked, usual cheekiness replaced with curiosity.

"That was a full on-" a more familiar, illogical tone replied.

"If that didn't work, I'm so going to punish you for making me give my first kiss away…" someone else said, making something warm glitter in my heart.

"Who's sitting on me?" I asked, deciding to finally make my presence known, also realising how tired I was.

"Open your eyes, and you'll see." the first voice, now returned to its usual cheek, advised.

I sighed, and did so, blinking against the light of a torch, before focusing on who was on my lap.

Mai looked slightly worried, and I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I dead-panned.

"Mai gave you her first kiss in exchange for yours, so our heart wouldn't be made of stone anymore!" Gene grinned to my left, and my eyes widened upon seeing him. "Also, to reinforce that, and re-balance you, I got brought back to life!"

I looked down at our hands, and laid my other one on top.

 _I won't be alone again?_ I asked, trying out our mental link again.

 _You were never alone, idiot scientist!_ Gene replied, inclining his head to Mai. _She was waiting for you the entire time!_

 _How come I can hear you?_ Mai asked telepathically.

 _You're linked to the pair of us now._ Gene grinned, and Mai gasped, turning bright red.

"What the hell!" she exclaimed.

"Kufufu! You're stuck with each other now!" another familiar voice grinned.

"Astaroth, why aren't you-"

"We're in a forest of Petrified beings, can't you work that out, logic-brain?" Astaroth replied.

"How do we free them?" John asked, and I looked over to see him holding the hand of a tall woman with a brown mane; the way it curled similar to John's, as were their eyes – his mother?

I asked such, and she laughed.

There was the sound of wings, and James flew over, embracing his Mother and brother from behind.

"James! You perfect child!" Lucida smiled, and she now stood with one son on either side.

She smiled at them, before shaking her self, slipping into a more serious look, hands on hips and eyes glaring.

"Osamu, Oliver and Kojou front and centre!" she ordered, and we walked up (Mai getting off my lap, and Gene letting go), quelling under her glare. "Not as an archeia, but as John and James' Mother, You three best look after them well! You three know very well what I mean!"

I turned my face away with a nod, and I took a slight step back as she grinned, suddenly switching back into her archeia self.

"But, Mummy, why both John and I? I'm petrified!" he asked, confused.

"Your brother's able to de-petrify us, as is Kojou. You may be half-human, but the rules still apply, and who do you think loves you enough to do such?"

"Um… Big brother?" James hazarded, and Lucida nodded.

"Me?! Turn most of the people here back from stone!" John squeaked, looking shocked.

Lin sighed, and put his hands on John's shoulders.

"Archangels and Archdemons balance each other well, because their powers are of equal strength, therefore, you should be as powerful as me." Lin explained.

"Also, Uncle Uriel and Uncle Gabriel can help! They're in there, too!" James grinned, and John stiffened slightly at the word "Uncle", before taking a breath.

"Alright…" John agreed, nodding.

"You perfect boys!" Lucida smiled, gathering James and John in a hug (and kissing their foreheads), before giving Gene and Kojou hugs as well.

"Oliver, don't push away those who love you." she smiled, before hugging Mai and I.

Then she disappeared…


	23. Tidying Up

John's POV:

I breathed a sigh of relief, as I unfroze the last angel.

"Thank you." I bowed to Gabriel and Uriel.

"It's alright." Uriel grinned, ruffling my hair. "You've had a long week, and you haven't been as able to get used to your powers as Kojou – you've only had a day, he has had seven and a half years."

"Why turn your item from a sword to a violin, though?" Gabriel asked, sheathing his own blade.

"Music helps better; a weapon – an instrument of war – can cause conflict as well as aid, and pain is forever in its path. However, a musical instrument – an instrument of peace – may cause some conflict, but it forever can heal those with a broken heart." John replied, and Uriel nodded.

"Wise words." Gabriel smiled, and they turned to go.

Gabriel paused, and turned back.

"One word of warning – not all half-angels are as pure or as kind as you and your brother are." Gabriel called, and I nodded, as the portal between heaven and earth closed.

I sighed, and looked towards Lin.

"Lin!" I exclaimed, running to his side, where he was crouched, his wings limp and forming a feathered cloak behind him.

"I'm fine…" he grunted, his wings disappearing. "Just a bit tired from blasting so many demons back to Hell. Mephistopheles was a real annoyance, as well."

"What's he like?" I asked.

"A teenage cheeky snob." Lin replied, wrinkling his nose.

"I'll help you back." I smiled, helping him up as I put my own wings away, ignoring the feeling that remained on my skin as best as I could…

 **Tiniest hint of BxB here**

Lin's POV:

I relaxed as I finally got the last bit of equipment back in the rented van.

A tap on my shoulder attracted my attention.

"What?" I asked Yasu, and he looked back towards the orphanage.

"I went to check on John, and I heard him crying… We think you'd best sort him out, seeing as Monk's being sorted out, and Li's saying that Gene and I have to entertain her while you're sorting everything out…" Yasu replied. "Also, Naru's having to teach Mai how to make a mental block so Gene can't taunt her, and she doesn't "distract" him."

I gave a small smile at the last excuse.

"Are they ever going to just get their situation sorted?" I asked, and Yasu smirked.

"Gene, Masako and I can deal with that small problem – we're plotting it already." he replied.

"Just don't set it into action for a week, please." I replied, returning to the building…

 **End of tiniest hint – Yasu tells Lin to check on John and they discuss how Naru and Mai still won't admit how much they love each other.**

 **Joker: SPEEEEEEEEEEE~D PUBLISHI~NG!**

 **Yasu: *continually dodges pages* STOP THROWING STUFF LIKE A MADWOMAN!**

 **Joker: *stops, and give Yasu watery-baby-eyes* But I need to catch up... 4 days without internet meant both my Inbox had about 49 messages in it and lots of writing being made on my part! What to do otherwise?! *lip trembles***

 **Yasu; Err~, Joker, don't cry, it's just a little-**

 **Joker: But after this there's only 2 chapters left, and Joker wants to let people meet other adorable shotas I made! And Mama telling me to let her deal with her bucket-load too,and...**

 **Yasu: Um, um, um... Maybe you can watch the rest of Tokyo Mew Mew before then? So people can catch up on their reading...**

 **Joker: BUT NARU STILL NEEDS HIS ONESHOT FINISHED!**

 **Yasu: It's just** ** _Naru_** **, I don't think he'll care either-**

 **Joker: But doesn't he** ** _like_** **some interesting, unique forms of poetry?**

 **Yasu *sighs and turns to readers* I'l deal with Joker, maybe you can Triple R so I have less to deal with, OK?**


	24. Sleepy Dreams! (no 2 to end)

**BxB here**

I knocked gently at the door, and opened it to see John curled up in a corner of the shower, tears mixed with water, and clutching himself tightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, crouching outside the shower to reach his level.

"I… I can't get _that_ feeling off my skin…" John sobbed. "The others used to be able to make me feel better, but now…"

I took a deep breath, not believing what I was probably going to do – not that it would affect me, of course.

"Shall I try?" I gently tried.

John looked at me, and I rolled up my sleeves, mentally blocking out any improprieties…

I exited the bathroom, helping a now-sleepy John, furiously pushing my blush away as best as I could.

"Lin!" Monk called, and John shrank into me slightly.

"Shouldn't you be lying down? You're concussed." I said.

"You've got a hole in your back." Monk replied, before seeing John. "Oh? What's this?"

"John's tired, I'm helping him to his room." I stated.

"About that – one of the Sisters are changing the covers in there, since it is the middle of the day." Monk replied.

"Are the blankets still out in base?" I asked, and Monk nodded. "Then that should be fine."

At this point, John gave a large yawn, and snuggled further into me as his eyes closed.

I felt a small smile creep onto my lips, and I gently picked him up, allowing him to snuggle into my shirt – again.

Entering base, I sat down with John curling up between my legs.

 **Most BxB ends here (Just to let you read the cute NxM bit I put in… And the story) Lin just calmed John down, and now John's asleep** **(in Lin's lap)** **. I'll do another warning later for the tiny, second-to-final part.**

Li walked up.

"Lin, what is the Chinese proverb-tale you and Father Paul talked about?" she asked.

"There once was a girl born, and as her mother sat watching, the ladies of sorrow and joy came with their birds." I recited after a pause. "They let their birds loose with two sayings; first, the lady of joy said "in times of joy, be still" as the lady of sorrow said "in times of sorrow, clap". The child grew, and should she come running, tears in her eyes, her mother would hold her and say "clap, so the bird of sorrow may not nest in your hair.", should the girl be happy, he mother would lay a hand on her girl's head and say "be still, so the bird of joy may build her nest upon your head"."

"What happened to the child?" Li asked, and I felt a small smile tug at my lips as another voice of about the same age said just that in my head.

"We shall see." I replied.

Yasu entered, about to tell Li off, before seeing John, and quickly taking a picture.

"Li, let John sleep, they've both been up since yesterday." Yasu chuckled gently, tickling Li's waist, giving her silent giggles, before he led her away.

I sighed, and shook my head, as my lack of sleep caught up…

Gene's POV:

An hour later, I crept back to base, having seen Naru asleep in his room, his hand over the side of the bed, where Mai had managed to fall asleep so it looked like he was gently caressing her cheek.

When I reached base, I found Monk and Ayako softly talking as I looked in.

 **BxB bit (only 2 lines)**

John and Lin were fast asleep on the make-shift bed, Lin's arms curled protectively around John, as John had his head resting against Lin's arm an his back snuggled into Lin's chest.

 **End of BxB bit (^w^)**

"Took a picture?" I whispered to Yasu, and he nodded, matching my grin with his. "You'll find Naru and Mai asleep in his room."

His grin somehow managed to broaden, before he disappeared from sight.

"Where's Yasu going?" James asked, and Li shrugged.

"He said something about pictures…"


	25. THE! END! (Thanksu all, and SEQUEL!)

TWO YEARS LATER

John's POV:

I smiled as I walked up to Lin, and he put a hand on my shoulder.

Dr Yumimura exited the room I had been visiting of late to deal with my memories and pain.

 _I have Naru to thank for helping me find and pay for him._

I smiled, and politely bowed.

"Thank you." I smiled, and Dr Yumimura nodded.

"You don't need any more help; as far as I can tell, since you have so many people backing you, you should be alright. However, I want you to take things easy, and your brother forgot his puffs yesterday – again." he held out the small, blue container, and I thanked him, putting the container in my pocket. "However, should you feel the need – which I doubt you shall – my door will always be open."

 _Having been petrified for so long, it turns out James has to sometimes take puffs and tiny amounts of muscle relaxant for helping his system keep up, although he's steadily getting back into shape – with enough exercise, that is (thanks, again, to Naru)._

We left for the car, where James was waiting.

"How did it go?" James asked.

"I don't have to go to the sessions anymore, like you." I smiled, and James quickly shot out, wrapping his arms around me.

"Naru will want us back at base to report. Gene and Yasu are at it again, though." Lin replied.

 _Lin's become more comfortable around us after that ordeal – maybe because he finally revealed his darkest secret._

 _As did I._

We entered base, to find its common chaos.

Gene and Yasu had recently been attempting "randomly" (Lin and Naru secretly figured out it followed a well-blended concept of n times Fibonacci times the root of n, along with n being the day plus month and year of their last attempt) to make Naru and Mai finally admit they like each other.

"It's their nineteenth this time…" Lin mused, walking into his room.

We heard a yell, and a moment later, Yasu was kicked out of Lin's office.

"Ow! I was only borrowing his inbox! It's not like I can download Thunderbird Mail myself to get into his user! Windows won't even allow me to open its package!" Yasu called.

"Invasion of Privacy!" Lin's yell could well be heard yelling back, also there was the hint of a smirk in his tone.

"Got it?" Gene asked from behind a cup of Lemon-grass tea.

"Yes." Yasu replied with a grin, holding up a small piece of paper.

"Isn't that a bit much?" I asked, sweat-dropping.

"All it is is Naru's IP address and Mai's IP address. It was in the depths of Lin's database – probably in case of bugs…"

"Such as the one we sent last time?" Gene grinned.

"What?!" I exclaimed, paling.

"What's an IP address? And how can bugs damage a computer?" James asked, confused.

"An IP address gives you the official name of a computer, and if a hacker, or in their case cracker, knows it, they're able to take control – that's why you should always back things up." Lin said, snatching the piece of paper and turning it to ash in a millisecond. "Nice try, but I have a hidden log to check on people like you."

"But I'm too _genteel_ to be a cracker, and you know it." Yasu smirked.

"You're dancing on a fine line." Lin sighed, before smirking and re-entering his office.

"Where re the others?" I asked.

"Madoka's doing further research on Demons and Angels, while Monk and Ayako are on yet another date." Gene replied. "Mai's in the kitchen… Should we start making them a helpful list of baby names?"

"Not just yet." Yasu replied.

Yasu gave a cheeky grin, and the disastrous duo went to his desk, where Yasu typed something in at high speed, before there was the resound sound of the enter button, and Gene smirked.

"We'll see." Gene grinned…

…

…

…

…

"EUGENE! YASUHARA!"

 **Joker: Damn… I ran out…**

 **Naru: What did they do?**

 **Mai: *growls * They changed our backgrounds to pictures from the holiday we dragged you on last year.**

 **Naru: *immediately gains creepy aura* I wonder how well Gene remembers the paper-folder punishment…**

 **Gene: *gulps* Triple R... Joker, you won't be so cruel to us in the sequel?! I don't want to be paper-foldered!**

 **Joker: Ano~... I think you'll have a bit more to deal with - but you do get to have extra-cute scenes with your brother! Also... *w* (hehe~) you get your** ** _own_** **cute scenes!**

 **Gene: Really? *gains starry-eyes, before realising fault and shaking head* WHAT ABOUT-!**

 **Joker: *pours another cup of tea for Mai and Naru about a meter away as they sit at a small, round coffee-table***

 **Mai: So what's the paper-folder-punishment?**

 **Naru: *sips tea while reading a book with his usual face* I merely open a file so its contents falls everywhere, have him pick up the contents, before whamming the left-over container onto the rear of Gene's head. Either that or I merely back-hand him to insure I leave a mark to prove my point.**

 **Gene: Meany! TT~TT *uses cute, chibi-annoyed face on us***

 **Mai: I see... *sweat-drops***

 **Joker: ANYWAY! I wanna thank ALL m'followers and give them ALL cookies! Also, M'sequel's called "Within a Village" and I'll have that up in a bit, seeing as I've already written some of the chapters.**

 **Again, thank you ALL SO MUCH for reading, hope you ended this with a BIG grin on your face and you've been able to deal with my off-hand speeding and publishing the last handful of chapters in one go!**

 **Sign-off for now, and hope you join me after your amazing life in my Tea Party in Hell,**

 **-** JoKeR


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